Year One of the Hari Potter Chronicles
by Fafnir's Treasure
Summary: What difference does one change make? Harry James Potter was born Hari Roslyn Potter. Watch as she saves a dangerous magical artifact by playing to her strengths and relying on the greatest friends she'll ever have. Rated T for naughty words. H/Hr
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: If it's not obvious;** I don't own Harry Potter.** I'm just messing 'round with J.K. Rowling's world.

Chapter One

Goblins, Ferrets and the Wandmaker

July 31st, 1991

-Hagrid tapped the wall three times with his flowery pink umbrella. The bricks Hagrid touched shook- wriggled - then the wall started to rearrange itself and fifteen seconds later, where there was once only a wall; now there was an open archway leading to a narrow street crammed and lined with little shops, stands, and stalls. She could smell roasting chestnuts on the wind.

"Welcome, Hari," said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley!"

He grinned at Hari's amazement. They stepped through the archway. Hari looked quickly over her shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall.

The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons — All Sizes — Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver — Self-Stirring — Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them.

She turned her head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump, redheaded woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, "Dragon liver, sixteen Sickles an ounce, they're mad…"

A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium — Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy. Several children of about Hari's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it. "Look," Hari heard one of them say, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand — fastest ever —"

There were shops selling all manner of things that would never be welcome on Privet Drive.

There were shops selling robes and cloaks, shops selling magical eyewear, shops selling weapons and armour made from hide Hari had never seen before, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments, a sign posted to window said to be Secrecy Sensors (Always Know Who's Lying To You! Detect Trickery Anywhere!), windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon…

Hari overheard a conversation between to crimson robed men, the badges on their chests proclaiming them to be Aurors. (Magical peace-keepers, not that Hari knew that.)

"There's rumours that the goblins of South America will rebel soon if the new taxes on acromantula silk aren't lifted," the first Auror said gravely.

The second Auror replied, "and they'll get what they want, their Ministry isn't prepa"-

-"Gringotts." Said Hagrid, effectively distracting Hari from her eaves-dropping.

They had reached a snowy white building made of marble that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was what Hari thought could only be a goblin.

They walked up the white stone steps toward him. The goblin was about a head shorter than Hari. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, Hari noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:

_Enter, stranger, but take heed _

_Of what awaits the sin of greed, _

_For those who take, but do not earn, _

_Must pay most dearly in their turn. _

_So if you seek beneath our floors _

_A treasure that was never yours, _

_Thief, you have been warned, beware _

_Of finding more than treasure there._

Hari gulped at the not-so-subtle warning.

"Like I said, Yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," said Hagrid.

A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Hagrid and Hari made for the counter.

"Good morning," said Hagrid to a free goblin teller. "We've come ter take some money outta Ms. Harriet Potter's safe."

Hari scoweld at the use of her full first name.

"You have her key, sir?"

"Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid, and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of moldy dog biscuits over the goblin's book of numbers. The goblin wrinkled his nose. Hari watched the goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as glowing coals.

"Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up a tiny golden key.

The goblin looked at it closely.

"That seems to be in order."

"An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."

The goblin read the letter carefully.

"Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!"

Griphook was yet another goblin. Once Hagrid had crammed all the dog biscuits back inside his pockets, he and Hari followed Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall.

"What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Hari asked.

"Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."

Griphook held the door open for them. Hari, who had expected more marble, was surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. They climbed in — Hagrid rather reluctantly — and were off.

At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. Hari tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible.

The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering.

Hari's eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but she kept them wide open. Once, she thought she saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but too late

— they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor.

"I never know," Hari called to Hagrid over the noise of the cart, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"

"Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it," said Hagrid. "An' don' ask me questions just now, I think I'm gonna be sick."

He did look very green, and when the cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall, Hagrid got out and had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from trembling.

Griphook used Hari's key to unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Hari gasped. Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze Knuts.

"All yours," said Hagrid, smiling at her reaction.

An astonished Hari turned to the goblin that was waiting for them to finish their business.

"H-how much is that? I'll need a bank statement." breathed out Hari.

The goblin - Griphook- looked bored and sighed.

"A statement of your Trust Vault will be given to you after you're your done here."

"Trust Vault? You mean I have more than one vault?"

Again Griphook sighed and answered in a monotone voice.

"An old famliy like the Potters has a Family Vault that you won't have access to until you're fifteen years old. this is for your use until then." He closed his eyes and took a calming breath so he didn't eviscerate Hari for not knowing something so basic.

Hari thanked Griphook for answering her questions and walked back to Hagrid who was looking nervous at the interaction. When she reached him he bent down and whispered.

"You wan' ter be careful." Hagrid eyed the goblin, "goblins aren't friendly, and they don't like to answer questions."

Hari nodded and Hagrid brightened. He stood up and turned to the piles of money.

"The gold ones are Galleons," he explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough. He helped her fill a medium sized sack. Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms, we'll keep the rest safe for yeh." He turned to Griphook. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?"

"One speed only," he grinned viciously.

They were going even deeper now and gathering speed. The air became colder and colder as they hurtled round tight corners. They went rattling over an underground ravine, and Hari leaned over the side to try to see what was down at the dark bottom, but Hagrid groaned and pulled her back by the collar of her shirt.

Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole.

"Stand back," said Griphook importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long clawed fingers and it simply melted away.

"If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," said Griphook.

"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Hari asked.

A second later she wished she hadn't asked.

"About once every ten years," said Griphook with a rather nasty grin.

Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top security vault, Hari was sure, and she leaned forward eagerly, expecting to see fabulous jewels and other treasures at the very least.

— but at first she thought it was empty. Then she noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor.

Hagrid picked it up and tucked it deep inside his coat. Hari longed to know what it was, but knew better than to ask.

"Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep me mouth shut," said Hagrid.

One wild cart ride later they stood in the grand foyer of the bank Hagrid leaned against the gleaming marble wall trying to steady himself while Hari followed Griphook to a teller and watched as they conversed in a strange garbled language. The goblin teller turned to Hari and said

"We'll need your key if you want a statement." He had an impatient air about him while Hari dug in her trouser pocket for the little golden key. She handed her key to the huffy goblin, he held his clawed hand over it he then muttered something in the same language she heard the two goblins talking in earlier. A moment later a piece of parchment and her key were handed to her.

"That statement also includes whats in your Family Vault," growled the goblin.

"Is there a way to spend wizard money in the muggle world? and how would I do that?" Asked Hari, rather bravely, risking two more question for the temperamental teller.

Both goblins left eye twitched in a creepy unison...

"Yes, Galleon Exchange is handled over there," he said stiffly pointing at the other side of the hall, his hand shaking as though he longed to put it on her neck and squeeze.

Hari looked in the direction the goblin was pointing and saw the desks over there were the same as the one she now stood in front of and she rather thought that the goblin was trying to get rid of her.

"Thank you, for all your help," said Hari who then turned away and walked back to Hagrid, not noticing the two goblins cringe at her manners.

When Hari and Hagrid exited the building she looked over at her bank statement and thought:

_"My Great-great-great grand kids could live off the intrest this must generate in a year."_

Hari didn't know where to run first now that she had a bag full of money. She didn't have to know how many Galleons there were to a pound to know that she was holding more money than she'd had in her whole life — more money than even Dudley had ever had.

"Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid, nodding toward Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Listen, Hari, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts." He did still look a bit green, so Hari nodded her consent and entered Madam Malkin's shop alone, feeling nervous.

Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve.

"Hogwarts, dear?" she said, when Hari started to speak. "Let me finish this young man and I'll get you squared away."

In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face that wildly reminded Hari of a ferret was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. Madam Malkin stood Hari on a stool next to her slipped a long robe over her head, and began to pin it to the right length. Hari looked at the skirts she had piled next to her with distaste and asked quietly.

"Is it against school rules for girls to wear trousers?"

She gave Hari an odd look but answered in an equally soft voice.

"It's unorthodox but there's no rule against it."

"Can you get me fitted trousers as well as skirts?" Whispered Hari.

"Yes I can dearie," the seamstress smiled.

Hari smiled back and thanked her, then she turned back to the other boy being fitted. he hurredly turned away, trying to look as though he was't trying to spy on a private conversation.

"Hello," said the flustered boy, "Hogwarts, too?"

"Yes," said Hari.

"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," said the boy.

He had a bored, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."

Hari was strongly reminded of Dudley.

"Have you got your own broom?" the boy went on.

"No," said Hari.

"Play Quidditch at all?"

"No," Hari said again, wondering what on earth Quidditch could be.

"I do — Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?"

"No," said Hari, feeling more stupid by the minute.

"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been — imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

"Mmm," said Hari, wishing she could say something a bit more interesting.

"I say, look at that man!" said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at Hari and pointing at two large ice creams to show he couldn't come in.

"That's Hagrid," said Hari, pleased to know something the boy didn't. "He works at Hogwarts."

"Oh," said the boy, "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"

"He's the gamekeeper," said Hari. She was liking the boy less and less every second.

"Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of savage — lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed."

"I think he's brilliant," said Hari coldly.

"Do you?" said the boy, with a slight sneer. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"

"They're dead," said Hari shortly. She didn't feel much like going into the matter with this boy.

"Oh, sorry," said the other, not sounding sorry at all

"But they were our kind, weren't they?" Said the boy accusingly.

"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean."

"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname, anyway?"

"Potter, Hari Potter."

The boy's demeanor changed immediately.

"My name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy," said the boy as though this meant was supposed to mean something to hari. Hari inwardly snorted at his name.

_"Malfoy- Bad Faith- his last name is French for liar."_

Malfoy looked slightly put-out that Hari didn't have a visible reaction to his name.

"You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

He held out his hand to shake Hari's. Hari didn't take it, thinking on how rude he's been to just about everyone, including herself, and Hagrid, one of the only adults who have ever treated her kindly.

"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," she said coolly

Draco Malfoy didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks. He didn't get a chance to retort because they were interupted by Madam Malkin.

"That's you done, my dear," and Hari, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, hopped down from the footstool.

Hari was rather quiet as she ate the ice cream Hagrid had bought her (chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts).

"What's up?" said Hagrid.

"Nothing," Hari lied.

They stopped to buy parchment and quills (something Hari couldn't understand). Hari cheered up a bit when he found a bottle of ink that changed color as you wrote. When they had left the shop, she said, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?"

"Blimey, Hari, I keep forgettin' how little yeh know — not knowin' about Quidditch!"

"Don't make me feel worse," groaned Hari. She told Hagrid about the pale boy in Madam Malkin's. and there confrontation at the end.

"— and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in —"

"Yer not from a muggle family. Yer mum and dad were two o' the best witches and wizards I've ever known! As fer wantin' ter be yer friend after hearin' yer name, yeh have ter understand that that's goin' ter happen with a family hist'ry like yours. He's grown up knowin' yer name if his parents are wizardin' folk. Yeh saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they firs' saw yeh. Anyway, what does he know about it, some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in a long line o' Muggles — look at yer mum! Look what she had fer a sister!"

Hari would think more on that later and decided to change the subject.

"So what is Quidditch?"

"It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like — like soccer in the Muggle world — everyone follows Quidditch — played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls — sorta hard ter explain the rules."

"And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?"

"School houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but -"

"I bet I'm in Hufflepuff," said Hari gloomily.

"Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," said Hagrid darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one."

"Voldemort was at Hogwarts?"

"Years an' years ago and don't say the name..." said hagrid looking pale and uncomfortable.

After finishing their ice cream they entered a narrow but tall shop called Florish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols that Hari learned were called runes and a few books with nothing in them at all. Hari bought all her school books including extras she felt she needed to know and things that simply caught her eye like:

_Common_ _Curses and Countercurses. _

_So, Magic is Real: A Muggleborn's guide to the Wizarding World's Common Customs and Economy made Simple. _

_Healing Minor Wounds._

_Customs of the Old Families. _

_The Magical Arts: and an Introduction to Each Branch._

_The Mind Arts: Magic you Can Do Without a Wand._

_Wand Lore: What your Wand Says About You!_

_The Magical Practitioners Pocket Handbook._

_The Tales of Beedle the Bard: Translated and Transcribed From the Original Runes, By Professor Bathsheba Babbling. _

She also bought a blank journal bound in soft purple leather that she had had her name embossed on in gold lettering.

Hagrid, noticing it was getting late, practically had to pull her from the shop.

"C'mon, there's still lots teh do before we get yeh home." 

Hagrid wouldn't let Hari buy a solid gold cauldron, either ("It says pewter on yer list"), but they got a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope. Then they visited the Apothecary, which was very strange and smelled horrible, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. While Hagrid asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients for Hari, Hari herself examined silver unicorn horns at twenty-one Galleons each and minuscule, glittery-black beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop).

Outside the Apothecary, Hagrid checked Hari's list again.

"Just yer wand left — A yeah, an' I still haven't got yeh a birthday present."

Hari felt herself go red.

"You don't have to —"

"I know I don't have to. Tell yeh what, I'll get yer animal. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago, yeh'd be laughed at — an' I don' like cats, they make me sneeze. I'll get yer an owl. All the kids want owls, they're dead useful, carry yer mail an' everythin'."

Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling and flickering, jewel-bright eyes. Hari now carried a large cage that held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing.

"T-t-thank you Hagrid," stammered Hari with misty eyes, she then gave Hagrid the first hug she had ever given anybody.

"Don' mention it," said Hagrid gruffly, patting Hari on the back. "Don' expect you've had a lotta presents from them Dursleys. Just Ollivanders left now — only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand."

A magic wand… this was what Hari had been really looking forward to.

The last shop was as narrow as Florish and Blotts and three times as shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.

The sound of a tinkling bell rang out from somewhere in the back of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair that Hagrid sat on to wait. Hari felt strangely as though she had entered a very strict library; she (somehow) swallowed a lot of new questions that had just occurred to her, and looked instead, at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the skin on her arms prickled like they were shocked with static electricity.

The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret ambient magic.

"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Hari jumped. Hagrid must have jumped, too, because there was a loud crunching noise and he got quickly off the -now broken- spindly chair.

An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.

"H-hello," said Hari awkwardly.

"Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harriet -Hari inwardly scowled at the use of her full first name- Potter." It wasn't a question. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."

Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Hari. Hari wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy.

"Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it — it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."

Mr. Ollivander had come so close that he and Hari were almost nose to nose. Hari could see herself reflected in those misty eyes.

"And that's where…"

Mr. Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Hari's forehead with a cold, long, white finger.

"I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly. "Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands… well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do…"

He shook his head and then, to Hari's relief, spotted Hagrid.

"Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again… Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?"

"It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid.

"Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" said Mr. Ollivander, suddenly stern.

"Er — yes, they did, yes," said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. "I've still got the pieces, though," he added brightly.

"But you don't use them?" said Mr. Ollivander sharply.

"Oh, no, sir," said Hagrid quickly. Hari noticed he gripped his pink umbrella very tightly as he spoke.

"Hmmm," said Mr. Ollivander, giving Hagrid a piercing look. "Well, now — Ms. Potter. Let me see." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?"

"Er — well, I'm left-handed," said Hari.

"Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Hari from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round her head. As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Ms. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand."

Hari suddenly realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between her nostrils, was doing this on its own. Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.

"That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Ms. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. just take it and give it a wave."

Hari took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it around a bit, but Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of her hand almost at once.

"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try —"

Hari tried — but she had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander.

"No, no — here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out."

Hari tried. And tried. She had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become.

"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere — I wonder, now — yes, why not — unusual combination — holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."

Hari took the wand. She felt a sudden warmth in her fingers.

She raised the wand above her head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls.

Hagrid whooped and clapped and Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well… how curious… how very curious…"

He put Hari's wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, "Curious… curious…"

"Sorry," said Hari, "but what's curious?"

Mr. Ollivander fixed Hari with his pale stare.

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Ms. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather resides in your wand, gave another feather — just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother — why, its brother gave you that scar."

Hari swallowed.

"Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard or witch, remember… I think we must expect great things from you, Ms. Potter…

After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things — terrible, yes, but great."

Hari shivered, more than a little creeped out.

Mr. Olivander dropped his theatrics and was suddenly businesslike as he explained the properties of Hari's wand.

"Holly wood has long been used in fighting evil and repeling darkness, and the phoenix is one of the light's most powerful creatures. It it safe to assume that this wand will lean heavily toward defensive and offensive magic."

Hari paid seven gold Galleons for her wand, and Mr. Ollivander bowed them from his shop.

The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as Hari and Hagrid made their way back down Diagon Alley, through the archway and into the now empty Leaky Cauldron.

"Got time fer a bite to eat before we get yer home," he said.

He bought a shepards pie from Tom; the Bar Man, and they sat down on wooden seats to split it between them. Hari knew she was being very quiet but she couldn't get what Mr. Olivander had said about hers and Voldemort's wand's out of her head. Not to mention everyone's reaction to her return to the magical world.

Hagrid must have noticed because he asked-

"You all right, Hari? Yer very quiet."

Hari wasn't sure she could explain. She'd just had the best birthday of her life — and yet — she chewed a bite of potato, trying to find the words.

"Everyone thinks I'm special," she said at last.

"All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander… but I don't know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things? I'm famous and I can't even remember what I'm famous for. I don't know what happened or how i survived when Voldemort killed my parents."

Hagrid winced at the name, then leaned across the table. Behind the wild beard and eyebrows he wore a very kind smile.

"Don' you worry, Hari. You'll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you'll be just fine. Just be yerself. I know it's hard. Yeh've been singled out, an' that's always hard. But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts — I did — still do, 'smatter of fact."

Hagrid looked at the clock on the wall.

"Blimey, it's gettin' late c'mon lets get you home, I'm going to be late for my meeting with Professor Dumbledore,"He absently patted the pocket where the grubby package from Gringotts was.

Hari had a sudden idea.

"Hagrid, I can make my own way to the Dursley's that way you don't have to be late for your meeting," Hari inwardly crossed her fingers.

The emotions were playing out clearly on Hagrid's face. The desire to stay with her until she was 'safely' at the Dursley's was there, but there was also a need to not let Dumbledore down by being late for whatever it was they were meeting for.

Hari decided to give him a push in the right direction.

"Hagrid, the Dursleys let me out on my own all the time. I can easily make my way back," she smiled reassuringly.

That did it because Hagrid's expression quickly cleared.

"All righ'," he pulled a ticket out of his many-pocketed coat and handed it to Hari. "Be at Kings Cross Station September First, the train leaves at eleven o'clock."

He handed Hari the ticket, and she looked down on it. It was a light purple and had golden lettering it read:

LONDON _to_ HOGWARTS

_for_ ONEWAY _travel_

PLATFORM 9 3/4

SEPTEMBER 1st, 1991

"I'll see you at Hogwarts, Hari. Rember, stick to your ticket, thats very important."

There was a sharp CRACKing noise and Hari looked up to tell hagrid good bye, but Hagrid was gone, there was no one in the pub but Hari and the barman, Tom.

She had done it. Hari allowed herself a wide grin. She had no intention of going back to the Dursley's so soon, no, she would rent a room at the Leaky Cauldron for the last month until school started. She felt bad for tricking her first friend, but there was no way that she was going to spend more time with her magic hating relatives than absolutely nessesary. Hari walked over to the counter that Tom was cleaning and she gently cleared her throat to get the toothless barman's attention.

"Excuse me sir," she put on her best innocent voice.

He looked up.

"What can I do for you lass," he said kindly with a big gummy grin.

Hari smiled brightly at him, for once taking advantage of her small and rather cute stature.

"I would like to rent a room until September First," she clinked a few galleons on the counter.

"Would you really?" He sat back in his seat and drumbed his knotted fingers on the bar.

"Oh yes! It would be really great if no one found out I was here as well," She subtlely slid a few more gold coins on the counter.

Tom grinned scooped the pile of coins up.

"I think I do, follow me Ms. potter," he came went around the bar and up the stairs, Hari silently padding after him. Two flights up there were two hallways going in three different directions: one foreward, one to the Left , and one to the right. He turned the left and led Hari down to the end where the was a portrait of a heavily pregnant young woman on the steps of a cathedral.

"The password is 'Sanctuary' if you want to change it come find me tomorrow," at her questioning look he added, "It takes to long to change and set a password to do it tonight." The young girl nodded her head in understanding.

"I'll have Minnie, a house elf, bring your things to you. If you need to get out of the pub without being seen there's a ladder that takes you down to the arch way to Diagon Alley. if you need to get to muggle london put a cloak on and put the hood up, enter the bar from the back door so no one traces you back to this room. To come back to this room climb the ladder from the alleyway, the window will only open with the password you set the portrait to."

Hari quirked an eyebrow, impressed.

"Something tells me you've done this before."

Tom sighed and nodded

"Sadly, it's nessesary sometimes."

"What do you mean, 'Nessesary'?" Hari questioned curiously.

"Muggleborns running away from parents or relatives who don't understand or fear magic. Girls running away from home and family because they were trying to force them into a marriage they neither wanted nor agreed with, purebloods running off to be with people their family views as," here he snorted, "unworthy of their _untainted_ blood, et cetera. This inn has always been used as a place of sanctuary and rest, you see, there are no churches in the wizarding world. If a magical person is religous they go to a muggle mass or service, but if someone is seeking safety we'd have nowhere to go, that's why this room -and several others- were created."

He patted a gnarled hand on the portrait, he reached into his jacket pocket and took out the money she had given him, he then offered it back to Hari.

"W-w-why, why are you giving it back?" She asked, astonished. This showing of goodwill and humanity was not something she had ever seen growing up at the Dursleys.

Tom smiled.

"It was a test, down there you offered me enough money to easily live here for three months instead of one. It showed me how important this was to you. Now go wash up, your things should be in there already. I'll have Minnie bring you a menu in the morning, goodnight."

Stunned speechless she nodded and shakily gave the password to the portrait which promptly slid to the side revealing a door made of the same stone that the rest of the wall was made of, after opening the door to her new home for the next month, she entered after giving tom a hug goodnight and in thanks.

The room was large, larger than should pe possible, and Hari was positive that magic must've played a part in this. The floors were highly polished and she could see herself in them. There was a large warm, brightly lit, fireplace on the wall opposite the door to the room. Next to the fireplace was the window that led down to the alley, she could tell that was the window she needed because it was the only one in the room. There was a perch next to the window, on which her still-as-of-yet unnamed owl was sleeping with her head curled under her wing. On the left wall was a door that led to a loo that had a bathtub with a shower, a sink, and a toilet. On the other side of the room there was a large four-post bed with blue curtains and a dark purple comforter. At the base of the bed was the new trunk made of polished cherry wood she had bought today, she had had a brass plate attached to the top that had the name: _Hari Roslyn Potter_, engraved on it. The trunk currently held her school supplies and uniforms and robes, plenty of room for more shopping. There were shelves and bookcases lining the door out of the room and a pair of squashy red armchairs in front of the fire, between which sat a large coffee table.

After stripping out of Dudleys old clothes she realized that she didn't have any other muggle clothing. Putting a trip to muggle london for fitting, -correctly gendered- clothing on the agenda for tomorrow she slid under the comforter and was asleep as soon as her head hit her goose down pillow.

Authors note:

_Why turn the goblins so mean?_

_Why __not__!_

The only reason I can think of that the Goblins have not been put on the Ministries' Dark Creature List is that the members of the Goblin leaders are blackmailing the board members responsible for the list -they're probably bribing or threatening the ones they can't get any dirt on-.

In canon the only time a goblin is trusted to do something important (Griphook and the sword) he betrays them steals the super-awesome-magical-artifact-that-just-so-happens-to-be-one-of-the-few-things-that-has-the-ability-to-destroy-Voldemort's-horcruxes, and left them to die in the tunnels of Gringott's miles below the streets of London.

Even Hagrid says that goblins are tricky and dangerous at the best of times. This coming from a man who keeps a giant three-headed hell hound named fluffy as a pet, raised an acromantula the size of a pickup truck (after finding it a mate and flooding the forest with hundreds of it's murderous, spidery, off-spring), a dragon he tried to raise in his wooden hut. He also bred -and expected his students to raise- Blast-Ended Skrewts, (an illegal crossbreed between Manticores and Fire Crabs) ten foot long, spell resistant, armored plated scorpions that moves via explosive propulsion. The year after that he tried to teach his full-blooded giant brother english (also kept in the forest next to a school filled with hundreds of small children).

*_sighs_*

I'm sure there is more but I can't think of any right now...

This is the only chapter that takes so heavily from the books. It should be a wild ride from here on out.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A Taste of Freedom, Shopping, and the Pink Guitarist

August 1st, 1991

Hari woke to a gentle, almost affectionate, nipping on her right pinky finger. She raised her head and looked over and down the length of her temporary bed to see her still unnamed Owl.

"Hey girl," Hari said sleepily, "good morning to you to."

The Owl looked up and stared at Hari with her big amber eyes before giving a series of hoots and snuffles that sounded vaguely like "g' morning."

Hari reached up with her left hand and slowly, gently patted the top of the Owl's, soft, feathered head with the tips of her fingers.

The owls eyes partially closed in pleasure and she made a short, soft, cooing noise.

Hari smiled at the thought of her bird acting like a cat.

Hari stopped her patting.

"Are you hungry girl?"

The Owl looked and at her human and bobbed her head once.

"Well lets get the window open," Hari pulled the covers off of her and stood up - absently noting how cold the floor was and making a mental note to buy extra thick socks and a pair of slippers while in London - and offered her arm to her bird.

The Owl hopped off the bed and took off, doing a circuit around the room and carefully landing on her outstretched arm.

"Nice flying girl."

The Owl squeezed her humans forearm gently in acknowledgement of the compliment.

After arriving at the window Hari quickly gave the password and unlatched the window.

"Go on, I'll see you tonight and then we'll pick out a name for you."

The Owl hopped off her human's arm onto the window sill, a hoot of departure and a great beat of her wings later and she was gone.

Hari turned away from the window and headed to the loo.

She stepped out of her shower and wiped her hand of the foggy mirror and, for the first time in a long while, she assessed her appearance.

Hari was small and scrawny for her age at five foot nothing, and rather fair skinned, she had a light dusting of brown freckles on her upper cheeks and nose. She often wondered if her parents were both short or if her stature came from being forced to live in the cupboard under the stairs coupled with not being fed enough. It didn't help matters that she has to wear Dudley's oversized old clothes, making her look even smaller. She had a thin face, short fly-a-way black hair that stuck up in the back and on the sides, and bright green eyes. She wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape still broken from the last time Dudley had managed to hit her. _Note to self: Buy new glasses. _

Leaving the bathroom, she opened her trunk and pulled out one of her uniform blouses a pair of trousers and a pair of cotton knickers (the only thing Aunt Petunia was kind enough to buy new for her) along with Dudley's old socks and shoes. Note to self: buy footwear. After dressing she threw on a crimson cloak and she put the hood up.

Hari briskly walked down the street with her head down, despite it being covered with the hood of her cloak. Inwardly Hari was happy her owl woke her up so early, as that meant there were fewer people on the road, and the ones that were there looked unlikely to bother her.

Upon reaching the bronze doors of Gringotts she stopped short of the entrance, looked left and then right, she breathed a sigh of relief and lowered her hood of her cloak. She squared her shoulders and entered the bank.

Hari walked to the desk the goblin had told her about the day before and waited for the teller to finish what he was doing. She waited and waited and waited and she was just about to make a noise to attract the goblins attention when he looked up and snarled.

"What d'you want!" Taken aback she spluttered a bit.

"Well!" Snapped the surly goblin.

Now Hari's ire was up, how dare this rude little creature tell her that she's taking up his time when she had been waiting nearly ten minutes for him to finish his work.

Hari was just about to tear a strip off this goblin's hide when she remembered Hagrids warning. Calming herself somewhat she looked the goblin in the eye and said in a clipped tone of voice that barely covered up her righteous indignation and fury.

"I want to exchange the appropriate amount of galleons from my trust vault equal to roughly one-thousand British pounds."

The teller quirked an eyebrow and smirked (a truly terrible thing on a goblin -all those sharp teeth).

"Very well," He produced a dagger with a curved blade from under the counter top. "I'll need your key, you'll also need to let me prick you with this dagger so I can do a blood test to confirm you are who you say you are, and if, or not, you are being controlled through magical means.

The goblin looked simply delighted at being able to cause even the slightest amount of pain to a human.

Hari kept an eye on the dagger and slowly, warily, extended her hand towards the practically salivating little demon.

She felt a sharp stinging pain on the palm of her hand and felt a bit of blood dripping and saw it pooling into a bowl. A moment later there was a cool tingling sensation and the blood flow stopped, she looked at her hand, the cut was still red but now looked several days old.

The teller brought a piece of parchment out from under his desk, He put the paper next to the bowl and ran one of his long, clawed fingers through the small amount of sticky red liquid and painted several squiggly letters on the corners, a moment later the parchment glowed blue. The goblin mumbled something and absently licked the remainder of Hari's blood off of his finger. He looked up and smirked at Hari's disgusted face.

"The exchange rate is ten pounds to the galleon, so one hundred galleons plus a small handling fee of ten galleons..." He looked at her questioningly.

Hari nodded her assent.

The goblin reached under his desk and pulled a black lock box which he opened and counted out a hundred, ten pound notes, that he slid into a yellow envelope and handed to Hari along with a receipt.

The teller then dismissed her by turning back to the ledger and continuing to write.

Unnerved a bit, Hari raised her hood, left Gringott's, and walked up the street to the Leaky Cauldron. Halfway there paused in front of a shop called River's Tannery and Leather Shop. Hanging in the window was jackets an dusters as well as rucksacks and boots, intrigued, she entered. The shop was dusty and smelt like shoe polish and old leather, there was an armchair in one of the corners of the shop. From inside the building she heard a slow deep voice.

"I'll be with you in a moment, please, take a seat."

Silently sitting down she waited about a minute when a tall, middle-aged, weather-beaten man walked out of the backroom wiping his hands on and old rag before stuffing it into the pocket of a leather apron he was wearing over his flannel shirt. He had a kind face with the contented smile of a man who enjoyed his work, and a mop of sandy brown hair that was starting to gray at the temples.

"My name is John River and I'm the owner of this little shop. Now, what can I do for you?"

Hari lowered her hood.

"I would like to get a pair of leather boots, if it's not to much trouble, maybe a jacket as well." She said in a soft voice.

The man smiled, and walked behind the stores front counter. Bending over he pulled two metal contraptions off the floor that Hari guessed was for measuring her feet and shoulders.

"Okay we'll start with the boots, your shoes look like they're going to fall apart soon."

Hari removed her shoes and John attached the metal device. Hari felt something tickling her foot. Hearing the young girls giggle Mr. River looked up at Hari.

"Do your best not to move that foot, if you move it, it won't get an accurate reading. That tickle is caused by the device measuring the growth rate of your feet, with that information I can enchant the boots to grow with your foot. This process is free as it is relatively simple to do. The second device will do the same with shoulders so we can fit you for your new jacket." When he saw her shrugging off her cloak he added, "you'll want to leave your cloak on, it helps helps give you a little more wiggle room with the Sizing charm."

She shrugged and re-fastened her red cloak.

There was a dinging noise and the the device spat out a piece of paper that John snatched out of the air. He looked it over while removing the measurer from Hari's foot.

"Follow me," he said simply, leading Hari to a shelf with several different types of boots.

John handed the piece of paper to Hari.

"Now, look around and simply pick out a pair you like that matches the measurements on that slip of paper, then bring them to me and I'll apply the sizing charm." He smiled and walked off to sit at the counter.

In the end Hari had ended up with a pair of dark brown, knee-high boots that had three silver fastenings running up the outer sides.

John led Hari back to the armchair and picked up the second measurer.

"You'll need to sit straight for this -that's it- now hold still."

The tickling sensation was back but it passed rather quickly before it too spat out a slip of paper that John picked up off the floor. After removing the chunk of metal from her shoulders he gestured for her to follow him to a rack, on which hung several leather coats in different styles, colours, and lengths. Again he left her to make her own choice.

Hari picked a muted black jacket that went a little passed her bum with a silver zipper and cuff buttons.

After the Charms were added she bid Mr. River good day and left the shop wearing her new boots.

Hari decided to do something about her ugly, broken, glasses at the magical optometrist's shop she saw the day before.

Entering the store she immediatly noticed that it was easily the cleanest building in Diagon Alley. It was dust free with gleaming counters and glass cases displaying different styles and sizes of glasses. As far as she could see she was alone.

"Hello, dear," a soft voice whispered behind her.

Hari squeaked, jumped, and turned around.

The witch that had surprised Hari was old, had a plump, matronly face, glasses, blue eyes and dirty-blond hair pulled into a bun that sat on the top of her head.

Hari gestured to her glasses.

"Hello, I wanted to buy a replacement for these," she was nervous, in the muggle world you'd need a parent or guardian to do something like this.

That didn't seem to be a problem because the old lady smiled.

"Of course dear, they look to have been put through the runner."

"It's been a long time since I've been to the optometrist," said an embarrassed Hari.

The kindly matron frowned slightly, her expression made Hari squirm guiltily in her new boots.

"Well that just wont do, come with me dear, by the way, my name is Healer Mary West. " The eye healer led Hari to an examination room in the back of the shop and sat her in a chair.

At Hari's questioning look she explained.

"It's been so long since your last examination that your prescription has probably changed."

"Oh, okay. So what do I have to do in this examination?" Hari questioned.

"It's simple dear, all you have to do is sit there and don't blink. Then I'll cast a specialized diagnostic charm on your eyes.

After the charm was applied and the results read she led hari to the girls frames.

"I'd recommend, that with your face's bone structure that you get a rectangular frame, wire or thick rimmed is up to you. Now, while you make your choice I've got some parchment work to finish up."

Hari decided on a pair of rectangular frames that had silver wire wrapping holding the lens but were thicker shiny black plastic on the sides.

She brought her chosen frames up to the counter where Healer West sat writing on a muggle clip-board. Hari cleared her throat softly.

Mary looked up and smiled.

"All set then dear?"

Hari nodded and put the frames on the counter.

"Those are lovely, you have good taste."

Hari smiled.

"Thank you."

"All that's left is to switch out the plain glass with your new lenses. Do you want any extras?" The eye healer asked.

"Extras? What kind of extras?" Asked an intrigued Hari.

Mary looked thoughtful.

"Well, the ones available to an underage witch are fairly benign: Unbreakable charms, Impervious runes, a sunglass option, things like that."

Hari was thinking.

"I get the Unbreakable bit as well as the sunglass part, but what does the Impervious rune do?"

"The Impervious rune keeps your glasses clean. Water and grime just runs off without needing to be cleaned. Useful, if you lead an active lifestyle."

Hari smiled.

"I'll take all three!"

A few minutes later Hari paid for her new charmed glasses and left the shop wearing them. She quickly walked up the road and entered her room at the Leaky Cauldron by climbing the ladder and giving the password. After putting away her purchases and switching her crimson cloak for her new leather jacket. She called Minnie the house-elf, as she had skipped breakfast and was very hungry.

"Missus Hari! What can Minnie be's doing for yous?" She squeaked in her high-pitched elf voice. She came to about Hari's waist in height and had green skin, a pointed nose, and large ears, and brown, baseball sized eyes. Minnie wore a little maids dress made a out of a black tablecloth with a fluffy terrycloth apron.

Hari smiled, wondering if Minnie's mother was a fan of Disney cartoons.

"I was wondering If you could bring me something to eat, something hardy, like a stew?" Hari asked hopefully.

The happy house-elf nodded her head excitedly and popped away, only to return thirty seconds later with a platter that had a large bowel of beef stew, a wedge of crusty soft bread, and a pitcher of something called iced pumpkin juice. After thanking the elf (who blushed and popped away) she dug into the hearty fair, all the while eyeing the pumpkin juice warily. Unfortunately the bread had dried out her mouth and throat and she was desperately thirsty, and yet, there was only the pumpkin juice to drink seeing no choice in the matter she poured a goblet full of the frothy beverage -totally forgetting the tap in the loo- and downed it quickly expecting a foul taste, She was pleasantly surprised to find it tasted rather good, the juice was sweet and sort of pumpkin-y but not overpoweringly so... Hari quickly poured another goblet and drank it more slowly.

When she was done eating Hari had, once again, called for Minnie and asked for help carting her soon to be new wardrobe to her room. In answer Minnie popped away and back with an positive reply from "Master Tom, sirs."

Minnie then explained that all Hari would have to do is to call Minnie's name in an out-of-the-way location and Minnie would pop in and relieve "Missus Hari Potter, Miss" of her purchases.

Hari left the alleyway between the Leaky Cauldron and the muggle establishment next to it. After eating she had quickly snuck out the back door and service entrance of the famous pub and was determined to buy herself a wardrobe full of new -appropriately sized- clothes. She just had one problem; she had no idea where in London she was and she definitely didn't know where any clothing stores might be. Left with little choice, Hari hailed a cab and asked the driver to take her to the nearest department store.

An unknown amount of time listening to the cabby drone on about something Hari obviously didn't care about later they arrived in front of an extravagant building proudly proclaiming itself to be "Harrod's."

What followed was ecstasy for the lucky Sales Woman (call me Jude, please!) who was paid on a generous commission.

Hari, over the course of several hours, bought a new wardrobe (with no skirts) consisting of: blouses and oxford shirts in many different colours, vests to match them, many tee-shirts, several different jumpers (Hogwarts is in Scotland after all), trousers (white, beige, black, brown), denim jeans (light blue, dark blue, black, gray), three pairs of shorts (short shorts, cut-off jean shorts, basketball), and matching tank-tops (it's gotta be warm sometime), four different hoodies (red, dark purple, emerald green -to match her eyes- and canary yellow -all of which could fit under her leather jacket with room to spare-), knickers and a few training bras (I wanna be prepared for when they eventually come), two new pairs of trainers, a pair of leather dress shoes, slippers and thick socks, five sets of pajamas, a dark leather messenger bag, three belts (white, blue, black, studded) a few hats, winter wear (gloves, a scarf and earmuffs -all in dark purple), and three pairs of long fingerless gloves (black with gray stripes, black and purple, and red)

Leaving Harrod's and a very happy Jude behind, Hari stepped into an empty alleyway and called for Minnie who quickly popped her purchases away to her room.

Walking down the street with an envelope that still had a large amount of money, Hari was think in of where to go next when her stomach gave a very audible rumble-had been hours since she had eaten lunch. Deciding dinner would be the best thing right now Hari entered a bookshop/pub named "The Red Book."

Hari was eating her fish and chips when the lights dimmed and the barman announced that a local band would be playing covers of popular English songs.

The band -the Witchery- took the stage and Hari was immediately entranced, the band, made up of four young women - one at the drums, one at a keyboard piano, one with a bass guitar, but it was the lead singer who had drawn Hari's attention. She was of average height and slender in build with a heart shaped face and short bubble-gum pink hair, she was wearing a black miniskirt, boots, fishnet stockings, and a tight, torn, purple band shirt- that showed off her rather impressive assets- which had the moniker "the Weird Sisters." written across her chest. Hari felt herself blushing and didn't know why. The lead singer carried an acoustic guitar and had a hot pink electric guitar on a stand next to her.

The lead singer spoke.

"Wotcher everyone, we're the Witchery. On drums we have Alice Berry, the drummer performed a short solo. On bass guitar we have Amanda -Manny- McGee, she also played a solo. On keyboard we have Kora Brown, she played another solo. And I'm Dora Tonks, she also played a solo (Hari thought this gave her a nice wiggle - three seconds later she blushed and wondered where that thought - and the images that it brought with it - came from.)

The band was good, though in Hari's opinion, Dora carried them with her outstanding performance and when they finished their set Hari was one of the most enthusiastic in their applause.

Hari was leaving the pub pondering her strange thoughts on the young guitarist when she heard someone shouting for her. She turned and was infinitely surprised to see the object of her musings fighting the crowd leaving the pub.

Hari stopped her walking and moved to an empty part of the pub.

"Oh god! Why does she want to talk to me!" Hari felt herself flush. "Oh great, now I'm blushing like a damned idiot!"

That was as far as her thoughts got because the pink haired Dora was upon her.

Being in close proximity to the older girl was worse than watching her on stage. Hari's Blush intensified. She cursed her faces betrayal.

"Hey, I just gotta ask you one thing and I'll leave you alone." Said Dora with a friendly smile.

It was all Hari could do to nod and keep from melting into a pile of witch goo.

"Are you Harriet Potter?"

Hari's dreamy smile melted and she scowled.

"It's Hari Potter, thank you, I hate my full first name."

Dora's smile only grew wider.

"That's cool, I hate my full first name as well," she checked for eavesdroppers in an exaggerated manner, making Hari giggle and smile again. "My full name is Nymphadora Tonks," she shuddered.

Hari winced in sympathy

"And I thought my name was bad," she muttered. Then something came to her, "how did you know my name?"

"That's easy, I'm a witch like you! I'll be going to my final year at Hogwarts in September."

Hari was instantly taken with her cheery demeanor.

"Well I have to get home, see, mum thinks I'm revising my notes from last year at a friends house," she faux shivered at the thought of extra studying.

"Okay, bye. Maybe I'll see you at Hogwarts?" Asked Hari inwardly crossing her fingers.

"Sure squirt," Tonks answered easily.

Hari flushed.

"I'm not a squirt!"

Tonks laughed

"Then why are you so small and scrawny?" Grinned Dora

Hari huffed.

"Hmph. And here was me, thinking how cool you are, but if you're going to tease me..."

Dora laughed and squished Hari into a big hug, inadvertently putting her face between those assets Hari had been admiring earlier.

"I gotta go Hari, I'll see you at Hogwarts," with that she turned on her heel and walking over to her band mates, never noticing that Hari's brain had temporarily shut down.

Five minutes later Hari left the Red Book, her face still glowing like the setting sun.

Hari entered her room and looked up at the clock on the wall. It was only ten O'clock, and Hari was still wide awake so she dug out her school books and started skimming them taking notes on the many things that caught her eye. Note to self: Figure out alternative writing utensil's, writing with a quill and ink is stupid. Thirty minutes later her Owl soared in through the open window and landed on her perch, taking a large beakful of water before gliding over to her human.

"Hey girl, How was your day? asked Hari as she rubbed, pat, and scratched her owl into comfortable, relaxed submission.

"Hoot," her Owl bobbed her head side-to-side as if saying, "so-so"

Hari continued her rubbing.

"Well, I'll tell you about mine after we pick you out a name. I have a list of them from my books that I liked and wrote down. So just tell me which one you like best and we'll go from there.

Several rejected names later and Hari only had a few more left.

"How 'bout Hedwig?" Asked a hopeful Hari.

The owl's head shot up and she made an excited cooing noise.

"You like 'Hedwig'?"

The Owl hopped over and landed on Hari's shoulder and rubbed her head against Hari's cheek.

Hari smiled, laughed and continued to lavish attention on the newly dubbed Hedwig.

August 2nd, 1991

Hari woke late the next day, after showering Hedwig with affection she continued to read late into the night.

She had learned something rather upsetting from her reading; muggle 'eckeltroniks' don't work around large concentrations of ambient magic like Hogwarts and Diagon Alley, and entertainment was very limited in the magical world, you can read, play games like chess or something called exploding snap and gobstones. Hari would need a release from studying constantly while there and those options wouldn't work. She was laying there under her covers in her new pajamas when she thought back on the day before and her shopping trip and subsequent dinner and the improvised concert and then she lead singer -Dora Tonks- at the Red Book pub and suddenly an idea came to her; an instrument, she could learn guitar, and she had the money to afford one. It would have to be a self taught skill, there just wasn't enough time to hire a tutor.

A shower and breakfast later and she was doing something she had never done before; she was standing in front of an open and full wardrobe of new clothes bought for her with her money. The thought of how different her life is now, compared to just a few days ago, was still enough to nearly overwhelm her, maybe it'll get better but now it's just all so new.

Done with her woolgathering she chose today's outfit and dressed.

Ten minutes later she had left the pub through the back entrance as she had the day before. She was wearing a pair of snug but not too tight blue jeans over her boots, a red tee-shirt, her leather jacket, and a purple baseball cap. she also had her messenger bag that was holding her envelope of money, her wand (she had read a bit of that Curses book the night before and felt she could pull off some of the easier ones) and her purple leather journal that had notes on interesting things to look up from her school book and things to do.

Not knowing where one might buy a guitar she resigned herself to asking a passers by for help.

Thirty minutes later, with address in hand, Hari hailed a cab. One stated destination later she was forced to act interested in more inane cabby babble.

The drive to the guitar shop was relatively short, so, a quarter of an hour later Hari was standing in front of narrow yet deep old fashioned building with a fading sign on the marquee reading: Picks and Strum's Used and New Guitars. In the display window Hari saw guitars, violins and other varied stringed instruments.

Upon entering the shop Hari saw it was as antique looking inside as it was on the outside.

"H-hello?" Called Hari.

Hari heard a young sounding voice behind a stack of old records in the back of the shop.

"One moment. I'll be with you in a second."

Hari was waiting when she had heard a loud yell followed by a thud and then a crash and finally a deep groan.

Hari rushed into the back room to see a skinny young man with red hair and a rather freckly face in his early twenty's laying on his back. An overturned six-rung ladder a few paces away and what must once have been an obviously antique guitar, but was now so much mulch, between them.

Hari went to, and knelt by the young man.

"Are-are you alright? Have you broken something?" Hari asked, concerned.

The man looked at the pile of splinters next to him and groaned

"Besides that seven-hundred pound antique Gibson and my pride, you mean?

"Er... Yes. I was talking about bones. Do you need a doctor?

He sighed.

"I know what you mean, I'm just playing with you. And to answer your question; no, I do not need a doctor. My name's Andy Boullion, and you are?"

"Hari, I wanted to buy my first guitar."

"Well, you've come to the right place. Help me up would you, my back is killing me."

After pulling Andy to his feet he led her to the front of the store.

"Alright Hari, What are you looking for, electric or acoustic?" he asked brightly.

"Acoustic."

He walked toward's the side of the shop that was lined floor to ceiling with all kinds of acoustic guitars. He gestured for Hari to follow him.

"Good answer, Most people just pick electric and find out later that they don't like the instrument and end up getting rid of it, they lose a lot of money doing that. Acoustic guitars are cheaper and easier to learn from.

Hari didn't know any of this but nodded anyway.

Andy clapped his hands, a happy expression on his face.

"Now why don't you browse amongst these - where are you going? Wait!"

She had heard the start of his sentence when she found what she was looking for and without her realizing it Hari was soon standing in front of the guitar that would somehow be hers.

It was perfect.

It had a shiny black 'Face' and Siding except for the Binding and the area around the Sound hole which was a dark brownish-red , the Pick Guard was clear showing the black stain underneath and had under it a small, pressed, crimson red, lily flower, the neck was made of a hard dark wood and the frets, post, and tuners were a gleaming silver.

She wanted it.

She needed it.

It was four-hundred pounds, and she only had three-hundred. She nearly cried in frustration.

"She's a beauty Isn't she" said Andy appreciatively from somewhere behind her.

But Hari wasn't listening. A million thoughts flew around inside her head, she was thinking of anything in her books that might help her. It was no good. The kind of magic that it would take to make this man part with this guitar was far beyond her current level, and even if it wasn't, she wouldn't use it for something like this. But there had to be something...

That's it!

"Andy," Hari called in a sweet voice, "I really want this guitar but I only have a little over three-hundred pounds."

She turned to him.

He raised an eyebrow, wondering where this was going.

"Now, stay with me here. You let me buy that guitar, it's case, a pick, replacement strings, and the best self-teaching book you stock for three-hundred pounds and I'll fix the antique Gibson you broke earlier. All you have to do is to stay here and not follow me."

Andy had a look of disbelief on his face that slowly changed onto a smirk.

"And if you lose the bet?"

"If I lose the bet... If I lose the bet, I'll give you the three-hundred pounds and walk out of the store empty-handed."

Andy's smirk widened into a full-on grin.

"Alright, you've got yourself a deal"

They shook on it.

Hari walked backwards keeping an eye on Andy to make sure he stayed there and she entered and locked the back room. She looked at the pile of wood and remembered the bit of knowledge that she had picked up just last night in her copy of So, Magic is Real. Apparently, the Underage Tracker put on wands is applied automatically as the student walks into the entrance hall of Hogwarts for the first time.

Hari or her wand had never been to Hogwarts.

Her wand was clean.

Hari was happy she had read the chapter in her charms book on simple house-hold magic because it gave her just the tool she needed for this job.

She pointed her wand at the pile and said quietly but clearly.

"Repairo!"

Hari felt her magic jump at her command. It surged from somewhere in her chest, traveled down her arm, and entered her wand where she felt it twist and contort eager to obey her clear intent -fix this.

The pile of wood quivered -shook- and then pieces of wood were rearranging and fitting themselves together like a giant jigsaw puzzle, and the strings reattached to the posts on the headstock and bridgepins.

Where once stood a broken mass of splinters there now sat a perfectly repaired antique Gibson guitar.

Hari smiled, put her wand away, unlocked the door and called for Andy.

"What's wrong, giving up already?"

In answer Hari merely pointed at the guitar laying on the floor.

Andy gasped and rushed forward, he gently picked the Gibson up and checked it's serial number, It was the same! He then gently strumed it, she had even tuned it!

He looked at a serene Hari and said the first thing that came to mind.

"H-how?"

Hari gave a Mona Lisa smile and replied.

"Trade secret."

The two spent a moment in silence, Andy outwardly flabbergasted and Hari inwardly amused.

Finally Hari broke the Silence. and pointed to the showroom.

"I believe we had a deal, so lets go gift wrap my new guitar it's case and other things."

Andy nodded mutely and followed Hari.

If her new guitar were a wand it would be spewing gold and red sparks everywhere. As it was, the guitar -the Lily Flower, Hari reminded herself- was not a wand so it just felt right in her hand.

After giggling out a goodbye to a still comically stunned Andy, Hari left the shop three-hundred pounds poorer but with an instrument that would last a lifetime.

Hari arrived back at the Leaky Cauldron just in time to tuck into lunch.

Hari spent the rest of the day reading the guitar book while practicing simple notes (only stopping for dinner) until it was too late and Hari, too tired to continue, fell asleep.

Hari woke the next morning, and after her morning ablutions she was heading down Diagon Alley with her guitar case strapped to her back. She entered the trunk shop and after a quick conversation with the teller, she had the owner add a brass nameplate to the bottom of her guitar case. After that she went back to the pub and took a nap as she was still tired.

The rest of the month was spent doing much of the same. Hari would wake up and talk with Hedwig, take a shower, eat breakfast, read her book and practice her guitar until lunch. Then she would eat. Afterwards, she would read her spell books and practice the simple magics inside, all the while she would take notes in her purple notebook. Several times she would return to Flourish and Blott's for more references. Hari ventured into muggle London for novels to read as well as more guitar books and an exersize book as Hari felt that eating nothing but pub grub for a month was going to make her fat. Before the month was out Hari went into Diagon Alley once more for another thicker, leather journal. She had also inquired about a mail order service and received an affirmative answer and a catalog back. One day she had ventured into muggle London to a stationary shop to buy a nice set of fountain pens, ink cartridges to last a year, and several replacement nibs.

Before she knew it the month had flown by and and it was August Thirty-first and Hari had put away all of her things and got ready for sleep, quite excited for the new adventure that would start tomorrow.

Authors note:

I had a lot of fun writing this chapter especially the parts with Hedwig. I would have thought that writing for an owl -or anything really- that can't actually talk would have been hard but for Hedwig and her interactions with Hari it was incredibly easy.

I had come up with several names to this chapter over the course of writing it, these are the best alternates: A Taste of Freedom, Shopping, and the End of Summer A Taste of Freedom, Shopping, and the Bubblegum Flirt A Taste of Freedom, Shopping, and the Witcher's Concert A Taste of Freedom, Shopping, and At the Red Book

About shopping: I hate it. So unless someone's only getting one thing (Boots, Jacket, Glasses) you'll only be getting a summary of what they bought Ala Harrod's.

About the Red Book: I don't know if there is a pub called the Red Book but it sounded like an appropriate name for a bookshop/eatery. I got the idea of using that name from the Red Book of Westmarch. The Red Book is a fictional manuscript written by hobbit's, The first half tells of Bilbo's journey with Thorin Oakenshield, Gandalf the Grey and a band of twelve more Dwarves to recover a lost treasure from Smaug, the Dragon. The second part tells of the Fellowship of the Ring, the war that surrounded them, and Frodo's solitary travels with Samwise Gamgee and Gollum. I thought the name was well suited because hobbit's love hearty foodstuffs like you'd find in a pub (fish and chips, stews, shepard's pie.) I love the name of this pub so much that it might become an important location later on. In fact, if there is no pub named the Red Book I'll open one just so I can name it the Red Book.

About Tonks: I always thought that Harry's first crush came a bit too late (the end of third year and just starting to notice girls?) so i put Tonks there to get Hari over her first hormone attack. I've always thought that Harry is emotionally stunted from his time at the Dursley's -the need to keep things bottled up until he explodes, his mistrust of authority, his inner turmoil over Ginny, et cetera- so if Harry was confused about his feelings for Cho Chang at thirteen, what's an eleven year old Hari going to do about her feelings for other girls? It's not written in stone but they'll (Hari and Dora) will form a close bond. This is not a Tonks/Hari story, if anything it'll become a competition to see who can get the other to blush first.

About Quills and the Lack of Innovation (Y'know what really grinds my gears): I can sorta understand the pureblood students using such an arcahic writing method when thats what they've grown up with but what about the muggleborn and raised students like Harry and Hermione who have grown up with easier to use tools like pens and pencils. If it's the look of your essay's then use a foutain pen they're easier and cleaner to use. What about computer's and telecommunications (Owl's, really?) It's up to the mugglborns to bring advancement to the wizarding world, the closest thing to that happening was Hermione's S.P.E.W and she went about that all wrong. Even the Weasley's -mugglelovers and bloodtraitors- barely understand them (Arthur has been obsessed with them and still barely knows anything about them, it would be funny if it wasn't so sad.) Even Ron who's best friend (and future wife's) parents are muggles reads comics about Marvin the Mad Muggle. The lack of understanding breeds fear, fear breeds hate, and hate gives people like Voldemort the power to thrive. Until the muggleborns do their duty and weed out the stagnant shite the Wizarding world will never change. And yes, I did come up with this rant because of a writing utensil.

About Extra's: I think that I'll include fun stuff in the next author's note things like omakes, character bios, and little AU's where the timeline or story could've diverged from fanon-canon.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Good-byes, New Adventure, and Cute Bookworms

September 1st, 1991

Hari woke from a restless sleep early September First. It wasn't that she had her old reoccurring nightmare and woke up shaky and sweating, it was because she was excited. Today was her first day of Hogwarts.

She threw her blankets off and jumped out of bed and rushed into her room's attached loo to take a shower, when she had finished she put on her glasses and stood in front of the mirror once again assessing her appearance. Not much had changed, she was still short at five feet,still had her mother's emerald green eyes. Her hair was as terrible as ever, it never needed cut and when it was cut, it grew back by the next day. The lightning bolt scar was still over her right eye (not that she had expected it to go away, it had been there for a decade after all) though it was less visible than normal thanks to the tan she had gotten over the last month. Her light dusting of freckles was even more pronounced because of that very same tan.

Hari sighed, the worst of it though, was that she was still flat as a board! She had hoped that a month of eating her fill would help, but apparently that wasn't enough... Stupid mother nature...

Hari stepped out of the loo crossed the room to her trunk and dug out her clothes for the day, making sure her uniform was on top of the contents so she could change on the train.

She was dressed in snug black jeans tucked in to her boots, a white blouse, black vest and her leather jacket.

she had slung her dark leather messenger bag over her left shoulder, had her guitar packed into her (this is the guitars gender - it is named the Lily Flower, after all) case. Hedwig was sleeping in her cage. She then double checked the room to make sure that she had everything, satisfied, she brought her bag and guitar while Minnie popped her trunk down. At the bar she saw Tom reading his Daily Profit, without warning she ran up and hugged the elderly barman, nearly knocking him off his stool.

"Thank you! Thank you for everything."

Tom laughed a loud belly laugh and hugged the small girl back before letting her go. Hari reminded him of his granddaughters when they were younger.

"It's not a problem, sweet child, whenever you need a place to stay you come find me and I'll shelter you again."

Hari nodded with teary eyes and bent down to hug a very surprised house-elf.

"Thank you for all your help this past month Minnie, I wouldn't have gotten much of anything done without your help and caring."

Hari pulled away and Minnie was stunned but quickly recovered and promptly burst into tears before hugging Hari tightly around her legs.

Hari pulled back from the two who had helped her so much since her introduction to the magical world, nodded once, and dragged her luggage out into the early morning sun

After a Hailing a cab and having him put her trunk and guitar in the trunk she climbed into the back seat and asked him to take her to Kings Cross.

They arrived a short amount of time later and he helped Hari load her luggage onto a cart. Making sure to give the man a hefty tip for his help she set off for the barrier. Luckily, she had skimmed through Hogwarts: A History, and knew that to get onto the platform you had to walk through the wall between platforms nine and ten. A quick glance at a wall clock told Hari that she was two hours early. So after finding the barrier, passing through it and taking a moment to admire the gleaming crimson train engine she boarded the train levitating her belongings behind her. Entering the first compartment she floated her trunk onto the luggage rack. She then opened the window and sat down.

Hari saw a problem with arriving so early.

She was bored.

Ten minutes of sitting there doing nothing quickly grew tedious so she opened the Lily Flower's case. After running through some basic exorcizes and songs she started to play seriously. Not seeing the family of three come through the barrier.

Hermione Jean Granger woke up early and happy. She had been waiting for this moment for nearly a year. Today was the day she would get to go to Hogwarts. It was a major relief to finally know what was happening to her during her younger years. To know now that she wasn't a freak, a mutant, or a Jedi, and that the things she had been able to do, other people could do as well really put her mind and the mind of her parents at ease.

She had always had trouble making friends. According to Professor McGonagall; muggle children can sense magic in a way that teenagers and adults can't and it puts them on edge. This only lasts until the child is eight or nine but by then the damage is done, they don't know why they they don't like you, but they do know that they do not like you and they see no reason to change that.

But Hermione was far from unobservant she knew she had some negative character flaws that made it hard (if not impossible) to make friends with her peers. She was bossy, prudish, a teacher's pet, and a know-it-all, but she was so much more than her negative personality quirks, underneath all that she was kind, loyal, and always willing to lend an ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on. More than anything, even learning magic, she wanted a friend -just one really good friend.

With that thought she slid out from under her covers and started her day.

An hour and a half later Hermione was leading her parents through the crowds at Kings Cross station to where Professor McGonagall said the barrier to the magical train platform is.

"Okay, when we get to the barrier you have to let me drag you through it."

The elder grangers shared a small smile at their over-zealous daughter.

"Here it is," the excitement in Hermione's voice was clear to all.

Hermione's parents grabbed their daughter's arms and were whisked through what seemed to be a solid brick wall.

The red steam engine had Hermione speechless for all of ten seconds then she started bouncing on the heels of her feet.

"C'mon! Help me find a compartment!"

Her mother smiled and her father chuckled and they followed Hermione.

As the trio of Grangers approached the first compartment they heard a soft voice and the strum of a guitar:

(You should go to Youtube and listen to Mumford and Son's Dustbowl Dance for this to sound good.)

_"The young man stands on the edge of his porch _

_The days were short and the father was gone _

_There was no one in the town and no one in the field _

_This dusty barren land had given all it could yield" _

The Grangers looked at each other and continued to listen.

_"I've been kicked off my land at the age of sixteen _

_And I have no idea where else my heart could have been _

_I placed all my trust at the foot of this hill _

_And now I am sure my heart can never be still _

_So collect your courage and collect your horse _

_And pray you never feel this same kind of remorse" _

Hermione and her family silently entered the train all the while following the sound of music.

_"Seal my heart and break my pride _

_I've nowhere to stand and now nowhere to hide _

_Align my heart, my body, my mind _

_To face what I've done and do my time" _

Hermione and her parents looked into the compartment through the door window, careful not to alert the young girl who was playing the guitar and singing the song.

The girls voice rose in volume and became harsher sounding.

_"Well you are my accuser, now look in my face _

_Your oppression reeks of your greed and disgrace _

_So one man has and another has not _

_How can you love what it is you have got _

_When you took it all from the weak hands of the poor? _

_Liars and thieves you know not what is in store" _

Hermione's parents didn't understand it, the song was sung with too much emotion for an eleven year old girl. It was like she had lived more loneliness and pain than the average adult.

_"There will come a time I will look in your eye _

_You will pray to the God that you've always denied _

_Then I'll go out back and I'll get my gun _

_I'll say, "You haven't met me, I am the only son" _

Hermione was surprised that the girl hadn't noticed them yet.

The girl in the leather jacket was getting louder and playing harder.

_"Seal my heart and break my pride _

_I've nowhere to stand and now nowhere to hide _

_Align my heart, my body, my mind _

_To face what I've done and do my time" _

She was now rocking back and forth as she played.

She shouted the next verse, her eyes closed tightly.

_"Seal my heart and break my pride _

_I've nowhere to stand and now nowhere to hide _

_Align my heart, my body, my mind _

_To face what I've done and do my time!" _

The girl was now playing with her whole body rocking back and forth and stomping her feet to a beat only she could hear.

The windows started rattling in their frames and her guitar took on an echoing property.

Hermione and her parents were shocked that a small girl could put so much power (literally) into her performance.

She quietly spoke the next verse.

_"Well yes sir, yes sir, yes it was me _

_I know what I've done, cause I know what I've seen _

_I went out back and I got my gun _

_I said, "You haven't met me, I am the only son_"

(Mumford and Sons, Dustbowl Dance)

She slowly got quieter and trailed off on the last line.

The girl lifted her head and looked at the Grangers and a look of horror and embarrassment flooded her face.

Hermione undauntedly opened the compartment.

Hari lifted her head and saw something out of the corner of her left eye; people - three people!

'Oh god, they saw me! No ones ever seen play before! I was probably terrible.' She felt tears prickle her eyes. 'No! Come on Hari you're made of stronger stuff than this.'

The compartment door was opened by a girl. She had big, intelligent, brown eyes, lots of bushy brown hair that went to the middle of her back, and a nervous smile that revealed slightly large front teeth.

Behind her were who Hari assumed to be her parents. The man was tall and had short, bushy, slightly curly, brown hair and blue eyes. The woman was of average height and also had brown eyes and hair -though it was straight- both of them had stunned expressions.

'Probably because I was so bad.'

"Can I help you?" Asked Hari, barely able to keep the nervous tremble out of her voice.

The young brunette spoke.

"My name is Hermione Granger."

There was a silence and both young girls shuffled a bit in their respective nerves.

"Hari Potter."

Her eyes lit up in excitement and she started to speak before she caught her self and she changed her statement.

"I've rea- You play very well, we heard you while we boarded the train, you were so into your song that we didn't want to interrupt."

That snapped the adults out of their stupor.

"I'm Jack and this is my wife Jean, we're Hermione's parents. Hermione's right, you do play very well.

Jean nodded in agreement.

"Thank you," Hari didn't agree with them but felt it polite to accept the compliment.

"When did you start playing?" Mrs. Granger asked.

"A-about a month ago."

This re-stunned the elder Grangers into silence.

"C-can I sit with you? We're the only ones here yet and I don't want to sit alone."

Hari recovered a bit now that they weren't talking about finding her singing.

"Yeah, of course you can," smiled Hari.

Hermione smiled in return then she turned to her father.

"Daddy would you you put my trunk on the rack for me?"

Jack looked at her trunk then at the luggage rack nearly seven feet off the floor.

"Yeah, sure pumpkin... Just give me a minute to warm up."

He started stretching a bit when Hari's voice reached him.

"I can take care of that if you want, Mr. Granger."

He looked dubiously at her.

"How do you plan on doing that?"

Hari smiled and pulled her wand out of her bag.

"With magic, of course."

She swished and flicked her wand at the trunk while saying:

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

Hari guided the now floating trunk up and onto the luggage rack having it land softly next to her own trunk.

Hermione's dad was surprised yet happy until their daughter's nervous tone of voice made him pause the thank you that he was about to give the black haired girl.

"Hari! You did underaged magic away out of Hogwarts! I don't want you to get in trouble."

"Relax Hermione, it's untraceable until we get to Hogwarts the first time," soothed Hari.

Hermione paused what she was about to say.

"What do you mean, 'it's untraceable until we get to Hogwarts'?"

Hari looked a bit sheepish.

"Ah -well- the spell that tracks underage magic usage is applied automatically the first time you walk into the entrance hall at school."

"You - you mean that I could've been doing magic for nearly a year and it would've been alright?" Stuttered a stunned Hermione

"When was your eleventh birthday?" Asked Hari in sympathy.

"September Nineteenth, last year."

"I hate to say it, but yeah, you lost a whole year."

Hermione pulled her wand and sat down staring at it, mind adrift.

Hari looked at Hermione's parents.

"What's wrong with her?"

It was her mother who answered.

"Hermione has always taken her studies seriously, she's probably feeling very much behind her peers now."

"Ah - Hermione?"

She slowly looked at her, her stare suspiciously blank.

"The only reason I knew it was okay to do magic was because I had found an old book of laws and customs in Flourish and Blott's. I'm sure not many people know that bit of trivia and that you'll be on the same level with our classmates."

Her gaze slowly came into focus but she still looked slightly out of it.

"How about I help you practice until we get to Hogwarts?"

That did it.

Hermione smiled shyly.

"I'd like that."

Mr. Granger looked at his watch.

"Hermione, we have to get going. Are you going to be okay from now on?"

Hermione looked at her parents and smiled reassuringly.

"Yeah dad, I should be all set."

"Well give us a hug, then!"

She did just that.

Hermione looked at her watch as her parents slipped through the barrier to muggle London.

"People will be arriving soon," stated Hermione

Hari, who was putting the Lily Flower in her case, 'hmm'd' and then looked at Hermione.

"Do you want to start learning basic spells?"

-Time Skip-

The train had been scooting it's way to Hogwarts for four and a half hours and Hari had finished running Hermione through a few spells for first year Charms and Defense, she was just about to start on Transfiguration when the door to their compartment was opened by Draco Malfoy and three followers, two hulking gorillas and a simpering pug-like girl with her dark-brown hair in a bobcut.

"What do you want Draco?" An exasperated Hari asked.

Draco Malfoy acted as if he hadn't heard her.

"Potter," he said shortly then gestured to the people behind him,"this is Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson."

He looked to Hermione.

"And you are?" He said with a slight sneer.

Hermione raised her eyebrow; Hari had told her about her trip to Diagon Alley and about this boy and the conversation they had in Madam Malkin's.

"Granger, Hermione Granger."

Pansy simpered out a laugh.

"I don't recall seeing a Granger family while studying my own family tree."

Hermione looked at the foul pug girl.

"You wouldn't have, as they're non-magical," said Hermione, tightly grasping her wand, silently daring them to say anything bad about her parents.

Draco sneered at Hermione then turned to a stone-faced Hari.

"It seems you haven't reconsidered our conversation about meeting with the wrong sort."

It was a statement, as it was clear Hari hadn't.

"Why are you here, Draco?" Hari's voice was light, but her wand in plain sight and the tone of her voice made it clear he should leave and never bother her again.

Malfoy (stupidly) plowed on.

"I'm just trying to help a fellow heir to an old family learn her station. One such as you shouldn't associate with mugglelovers and mudbloo-

-Hari didn't let him finish that word because at that moment she brought up her right hand and back-handed the albino ponce across his aristocratic face.

Malfoy fell back into his bodyguards and groaned in pain.

"When my father-"

"-I'm warning you now Malfoy," interrupted hari, "never use that word in front of me again. Now get out of here and take your brainless sycophants with you."

Hari was red in the face and sparks flew out the tip of her wand.

Malfoy pushed his lackey's out of the way and quickly left the compartment muttering something about "My father" and ''You'll get your's, Potter."

Hari slammed the compartment door in the faces of Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle. Shot a basic locking and silencing charm at the door and turned to apologize to Hermione.

"I know it doesn't mean much, but I'm sorry about that little twa- mpphhh!"

Hermione cut her off but gave Hari a short but powerful hug.

She sat back down.

"Why?" At Hari's puzzled look she added. "Why did you stand up for me like that?"

Hari smiled.

"Because you're my friend," Hari was suddenly nervous, "that is, if you want to b- MPPHHH"

Hermione captured her new friend in an even bigger, rib-cracking hug.

"I'd love to be your friend." Whispered Hermione.

Hari smiled

"C'mon, lets get our uniform's on."

Hari climbed up to the luggage rack and took her shirt, tie, trouser's, sweater-vest, oxford shoes, and cloak from her trunk. While Hermione closed the blinds on the compartment door and windows and levitated her trunk from the rack, taking out the standard Hogwart's female uniform (Think movie uniform).

After dressing Hermione asked a question that she looked to have been holding in since she saw Hari taking her clothes from her trunk.

"Hari why are you wearing pants instead of a skirt?" Asked Hermione, nervously playing with the hem of her own skirt.

Hari shrugged

"I feel uncomfortable in skirts."

Hermione cocked her head to the side in question.

Hari added.

"When I was growing up at my aunt and uncle's house all I had to wear was my cousins hand-me-downs. You see, he's about four times fatter than me, and he only wore pants -it'd be weird to see him in a skirt- so that's what I'm used to wearing. When I was at Madam Malkin's I asked if it was against the rules for girls to wear trousers with their uniform, she said that it's unorthodox but there's no rule against it."

Hermione nodded in understanding.

"Why did your relatives not buy you your own clothes? You were obviously wearing new clothing when we met earlier."

Hari's expression darkened and Hermione was about to apologize for asking too personal of a question, when Hari, seeing her look, relaxed.

"Don't worry, it's not you I'm upset with. To answer your question; My relatives don't like magic -actually they don't like anything that doesn't fit with their view of what's normal- so, by extension, they don't like me.

Hermione gasped.

"It's alright, the feeling's mutual anyway. The Dursley's -my relatives- refused to spend money on me when they could just pawn Dudley's -my cousin- old things off on me. With my re-introduction to the magical world -Which my relatives fought tooth and nail to avoid- I found out my family is pretty wealthy. So the next day I bought myself a whole new wardrobe"

Hari nodded the completion of her story.

The two sat in companionable silence for a while until Hermione looked to Hari.

"Hari, that word that Malfoy was going to call me... what did it mean?

Hari sighed sadly.

"He was going to call you..." Hari took a calming breath and spat, "mudblood."

Hermione blinked.

"What does that mean, mudblood?"

"It's a really foul name for muggleborns, someone with non-magic parents. It's like calling a black person the 'N' word."

"Just because my parents are non-magical?" Gasped Hermione.

Hari sighed again.

"The magical world is at least two-hundred to three-hundred years behind the non-magical world when it comes to government and social standing.

"What do you mean?''

"In the magical world they're three class systems, so to speak, pure-blood, half-blood, and muggleborn. The pure-blooded -like Malfoy- can trace their magical blood back a long time. Half-bloods are a complicated lot, they can be the child of a pure-blood and a muggle, or a muggle-born, or the child of two muggleborns. In other words your a half-blood if one of your grandparents are non-magical, I'm a half-blooded heir to an old pureblood family because my mother was muggleborn. Muggleborns are people like you, the first one in their family with magic in their veins, on the other side of that extreme are the squibs, non-magic people born to a wizarding couple."

Hari took a deep breath and continued.

"You need to understand that in the magical world heritage is everything to the people in power because they have the longest heritage. They don't want to share power with anyone so they've made laws stacking the deck against muggleborns, and to a lesser extent, half-bloods."

Hermione scowled at the magical worlds legalized discrimination.

"It gets a little better every generation, but it's like fighting an uphill battle. A slow process."

Hermione nodded, sad that she'll have to fight to do the simplest of things after Hogwarts.

"I'm sorry the world is like this. That I have to be the one to shatter your preconceived notions about what an amazing place the wizarding world is. The truth of the matter is that the magical world is a place rife with discrimination and corruption."

Hermione was about to say something when they were interrupted by a tapping noise coming from the door.

Getting up to open the door, Hari canceled the charms and pulled open the blinds to reveal-

"Dora!" Hari blushed, Tonks was already in uniform and it was safe to say that she could pull off the 'naughty schoolgirl' look without even trying.

The door opened.

"Wotcher, Hari. Budge over and let me in would you."

Hari moved to let her in then she sat next to Hermione while Dora sat opposite them.

Hari turned to her bench mate

"Hermione this is Dora Tonks, we met over the summer. Dora this is my friend, Hermione Granger."

Tonks smiled brightly. (Hari blushed a bit)

"Wotcher Hermione."

Hermione, entranced by Dora's pink hair, absently nodded her greeting.

Dora turned to Hari.

"I was walking down the hallway when I heard a platinum haired first year talking loudly about some short, crazy, black haired girl who 'dared' hit him 'like a dirty, common, muggle'.

Anyway, he was plotting revenge and I naturally grew concerned, so I started looking for my favorite crazy, short, black haired, firstie.

Hari both blushed for being called Dora's favorite firstie (and her caring -no matter how well it was concealed) and scowled at her calling her short (not bothering to denying the crazy charge at all).

"Let him come," snarled Hari, "I'd whoop his albino arse up and down this train. Both with, and without, magic."

WIth every word Hari spoke Tonk's smile widened and Hermione -who had just stopped looking at Tonk's now rapidly oscillating hair color (pink, red, blue, green, pink with purple polka-dots)- nodded in agreement.

"Well let me know if you need any help. Can't let my favorite firstie get hurt."

Tonks pulled Hari in to a big hug (the kind from the Red Book) and left the compartment after saying good-bye to the two upcoming first years.

Hermione's POV

Hermione was about to tell Hari not to apologize for the way the government standardized discrimination when she heard Hari happily shout a name and open the compartment door. For some reason she seemed to be a little flushed.

Over the course of the conversation Hermione noticed Hari was steadily getting redder in the face until the seventh year -Dora- hugged Hari putting the face of her new friend between her large breasts.

When Dora slid the compartment door shut Hermione shot a discreet look at her new friend.

Hari was red in the face and looked to be in the process of rebooting her mind...

_''Oh... My... God...''_

_"Hari has a crush on Dora!" _

Wait-Wait Hermione, you shouldn't assume anything.

Hermione turned to the barely cognizant Hari and asked:

"Hari, do you fancy Dora?"

Hari's face burned red.

She slid down the seat and collapsed on the floor

"Hari..."

There was silence...

Hermione knelt next to her unconscious friend and shook her awake

"You okay Hari?" Asked Hermione in concern.

Dora's POV

Tonks heard a shout and the door opened revealing and excited and flushed Hari and a brunette girl she didn't know. Both of them were already in their uniform and from the looks of things had just finished a very serious conversation.

Dora noticed that Hari kept getting redder and redder as well as sending some covert glances throughout their talk. She also noticed the guitar case on the luggage rack next to Hari's Trunk (she wanted to be an auror after all, she had to notice things). She hoped that Hari would talk to her about it, it would be nice to have another musician at Hogwarts.

Despite what Snape would say, she was anything but stupid and knew during their first meeting that Hari had a crush on her. It was too bad that she preferred boys, because Hari was cute now and was going to grow to be a beauty.-

"-Well let me know if you need any help. Can't let my favorite firstie get hurt."

She pulled Hari into a hug making sure to shove her face in between her self admitted 'Huge Knockers'

I might not be into girls but she's still so much fun to tease...

"Good-bye you two, I'll see you two at the feast."

Dora left the compartment and waited long enough to hear Hermione ask if Hari fancied her then a thump as if Hari had fallen off her bench.

She couldn't help but chuckle as she walked back to her compartment to join her friends her own age.

She took her seat and leaned against the window thinking about Hari.

Dora couldn't explain why she felt such a fierce rush of protectiveness towards the small girl but she knew what she would do if Hari was hurt.

"That's not going to happen, I won't let it..."

With that, Dora closed her eye's, lost to her thoughts.

Hari's POV

"Hari, do you fancy Dora?"

Hari's thought process fell apart, the world was spinning.

_''I don't fancy her, do I?'' _

_"If you don't fancy her why do you blush every time she's around?" _

_"Hero worship?" _

_"This can't be true." _

_"If its hero worship why do those sexy images pop up when you think about her?" _

_"Why do you have those dreams about her?" _

_"Why do you love her hugs so much?" _

The edges of her vision went black and she knew nothing.

...

She was being shaken.

"Hari?"

Who is that?

"Are you ok?"

Hari heard a worried voice.

"H'rmi'ne..." Murmured Hari.

Hari felt someone adjust the glasses on her face and a brown-haired figure swam into focus above her face.

Hari knew what must've happened and she felt ashamed to have fainted in front of the first friend of her age group. As well as the revelation that brought about her fainting spell; she, Hari, fancied Nymphadora Tonks, another girl - although, she's a very nice looking girl- no, stop that!

Hari felt tears prickle her eyes and the words of her Uncle Vernon came, unbidden, to the forefront of her mind:

_"I CAN'T THINK UP AN APPROPRIATELY TERRIBLE RANT! FEEL FREE TO THINK OF SOMETHING TERRIBLE TO FILL THIS SPACE!" _

"Har-"

"How, how can you stand to be near me?"

Hari was shaking. Tears of self loathing streaming down her face.

"Don't you know that I'm a _Freak_! Doomed to burn for all eternity for having a predisposition that I didn't know I had!"

Hermione was horrified, where had this all come from? Where was the confident young girl that put her all into her music, who had made Malfoy and his three toadies back down on her own, after defending a girl that she barely knew?

Hermione was at a loss, she had never read about what to do in this situation. So she did the only thing she could think of, she held Hari while she shook and cried.

"It'd be better if you leave," blubbered Hari into Hermione's hair.

"Is that what you truly want?" Hermione whispered into Hari's ear.

Hari didn't answer so Hermione continued.

"Let me tell you what I want, Harriet Roslyn Potter (Hari's head snapped up at the use of her full name): I want you to pick your self up. Because to me It doesn't matter if your straight, gay, bisexual, or attracted to things like couches or kitchen appliances (the corners of Hari's lips quirked upward's at the last two options), because you're my friend. I don't know what your horrid relatives told you but whatever it was, they were dead wrong. Because you are the most kind, caring girl my age I've ever met, I know this for a fact and I've barely known you for an afternoon."

Hari stared at her, Her eyes red and her face tearstained.

"Y'mean you don't hate me? You're not disgusted with me?"

Hermione wiped the tears off Hari's Face with the pad of her thumbs.

"No, no I'm not. Quite the opposite, I think you're really quite brave."

Hari's head dropped onto Hermione's shoulder

"Thank you Hermione,'' an emotionally spent Hari muttered sleepily.

"Your welcome Hari..."

They sat there until Hari's eyes started to get heavy and she leaned more of her weight on Hermione.

Hermione smiled at her sleepy friend.

"Come on Hari, lie down on the bench."

Hari peeked through an eyelash.

"O'k'y, H'r'mi'ee," slurred a sleepy Hari.

Hari laid on the bench with her back to the door, she was using Hermione's cloak as a blanket.

Hermione stood after tucking in a dozing Hari.

"I'll be back Hari, I need to go to the loo and then I want to check out the rest of the train."

Hari said nothing and for a moment and Hermione thought she was sleeping but then she heard it.

"K, Er'mi'nee"

Hermione smiled, pulled the blinds down and left the compartment after shooting the locking spell she had seen Hari use earlier at the door. She desperately needed the loo.

Ron's POV

"-Brother's gave me a spell to turn him yellow, want to see?" Ron asked the round faced, brown-haired boy sitting across from him.

Neville Longbottom, who was eating some of the candy he and Ron were sharing, nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah!"

Ron cleared his throat and was about to start when he heard a tapping noise on the compartment door which promptly opened revealing a girl with lots of bushy brown hair and eyes. When she spoke Ron could see a set of large front teeth. She was dressed in the school uniform sans cloak.

"Excuse me, do either of you know where the loos are?"

Neville was about to answer when she interrupted having seen Ron's wand at the ready.

"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see then."

She had a bossy sort of voice.

Ron looked at Neville with a raised eyebrow and he shrugged.

"Butterflies, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid fat rat yellow."

Nothing happened.

"Are you sure thats a real spell?" The brown-haired girl asked skeptically. "I've only tried out a few simple ones myself but they've all worked for me."

The girl turned to leave.

"You'll want to change into your robes, I expect we'll be arriving soon."

and with that she was gone (probably to find a loo).

"Blimey, I hope I'm not in whatever house she's in." Said an incredulous Ron.

Neville shrugged uncommittedly.

Hari heard a distant knocking noise followed by the sound of the door sliding open.

Someone gently shook her to full wakefulness.

"Hari." Hermione said softly kneeling at Hari's head.

Hari rubbed her itchy eyes.

"Hermione?" Murmured Hari.

Hermione handed a wet washcloth to Hari.

"It's for your face and eyes." Added Hermione at Hari's cocked eyebrow.

As Hari gently scrubbed her face free of tear tracks Hermione stood up and re-fastened her cloak.

"We'll be there in a few minutes so you need to wake up and gather your stuff."

Hari shook her head.

"We don't need to gather our stuff. The house-elves do it when we're sorted."

"House-elves?"

"The maids and butlers of big mansions and castles."

The two girls heard the squealing of wet brakes and the train glided to a stop at Hogsmead Station.

The excited girls exited the train holding hands so they weren't separated, careful not to be trampled by careless older students.

"Fir' years!" A voice bellowed, "Firs' years O'er 'ear!"

Hari smiled and led a nervous Hermione to the biggest man Hermione had ever seen.

"Hagrid!" Yelled Hari, running up to hug the gentle half-giant.

The Keeper of Keys laughed and lifted Hari up for a few seconds.

"Hello Hari, it's good ter see yer again. Who's yer frien'?" Hagrid asked letting go of her as he saw a timid Hermione.

Hari pulled Hermione over by the elbow.

"This is my friend Hermione Granger. Hermione, this is Rubeus Hagrid, the groundskeeper for Hogwarts."

Hagrid gently shook Hermione's proffered hand.

Hermione was now calm enough to talk.

"Hello Mr. Hagrid, it's nice to meet you."

"Jus' call me Hagrid, everyone does," he said with a wave of his large hand. "Any frien' o' Hari's is a frien' o' mine."

He stood back up to his full imposing height.

"You lot need ter get ter the boats."

The boat ride was fun, Hermione and Hari shared a boat with two girls named Padma Patil and Lisa Turpin.

After disembarking at the docks under the school Hagrid led the silent first years to the entrance hall. Passing through Hari couldn't help but sigh with the knowledge that she now couldn't do magic away from Hogwarts.

She looked up in time to hear Hagrid greet an tall stern looking woman.

"The firs' years Professor McGonagall, ma'am."

Professor McGonagall turned to Hagrid and she suddenly looked a little less severe.

"Thank you Hagrid. Why don't you go take your seat? The sorting will begin shortly."

Hagrid nodded once and sent Hari and Hermione a wink as he left through a side door.

Professor McGonagall spoke but Hari was hardly paying attention to the stern witch in emerald green robes.

The woman began what sounded like a well rehearsed speech welcoming them to Hogwarts and telling them how important the sorting is. Then she discussed the qualities of each house and stressed that their house would be like their family while at Hogwarts, and that winning the house cup is a major honor.

When she finished her speech and suggested they clean themselves up as much as possible in a few minutes looking pointedly at a red-haired boy who had a smudge of dirt on his face and a brown-haired boy who had somehow managed to fasten his cloak under his left ear. She sent a beady and disapproving eye at Hari and her choice of wearing trousers instead of a skirt.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please, wait quietly."

Hari heard Hermione muttering the names of spells she knew as though the first years would be expected to do a test in front of the entire school. The first years around her were getting more and more nervous at being asked to know as much as the brunette bookworm.

Hermione looked to be on the verge of a panic attack, so Hari decided to step in and calm her down.

"Hermione, stop, take a deep breath and relax."

Hari mimed deep breathing.

"That's it," soothed Hari, "the Professors aren't going to test us before we've had classes with them."

Hermione looked at her friend with wide eyes.

"How do you know?" Demanded Hermione Shrilly. "We haven't had a single class and already I'm going to fai-mmmpph"

Hari pulled her into a tight hug rivaling Hermione's own rib-cracking embraces.

Hari whispered into Hermione's ear.

"In the same book I found the law about underage magic usage there was a chapter on Hogwarts which covered the sorting ceremony. All you have to do is try on a hat."

She pulled away from her bushy-haired friend but before Hermione could ask her to explain her statement Professor McGonagall came back for them.

The two started when they both heard screams and turned in time to see several ghosts float out from the wall on the other side of the door.

**Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance —" **

**"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost — I say, what are you all doing here?" **

**Nobody answered. **

**"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?" **

**A few people nodded mutely. **

**"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know." **

He was cut off from saying more by the reappearance of Professor McGonagall.

"We're ready for you," she said

She led the nervous and shaking new students into a grand hall with four long dark wood tables covered in gleaming and sparkling golden plates and goblets. From the transparent ceiling four banners hung- each wearing the house colours and animals. Thousands of candles gave off enough twinkling light to see everything clearly. At the end of the hall another table ran perpendicular to the house tables, at it sat the Professors and other members of staff.

McGonagall brought the students to the front of the hall where a hat sat on a stool. A tear opened in the brim of the hat and it started to sing

**"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty, **

**But don't judge on what you see, **

**I'll eat myself if you can find **

**A smarter hat than me. **

**You can keep your bowlers black, **

**Your top hats sleek and tall, **

**For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat **

**And I can cap them all. **

**There's nothing hidden in your head **

**The Sorting Hat can't see, **

**So try me on and I will tell you **

**Where you ought to be. **

**You might belong in Gryffindor, **

**Where dwell the brave at heart, **

**Their daring, nerve, and chivalry **

**Set Gryffindors apart; **

**You might belong in Hufflepuff, **

**Where they are just and loyal, **

**Those patient Hufflepuffs are true **

**And unafraid of toil; **

**Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, **

**If you've a ready mind, **

**Where those of wit and learning, **

**Will always find their kind; **

**Or perhaps in Slytherin **

**You'll make your real friends, **

**Those cunning folk use any means **

**To achieve their ends. **

**So put me on! Don't be afraid! **

**And don't get in a flap! **

**You're in safe hands (though I have none) **

**For I'm a Thinking Cap!" **

The entire hall burst into enthusiastic applause as the hat bowed to the house tables in turn.

Hari heard the red-headed boy muttering about "stupid brothers" and "wrestling a troll." Hari shook her head in exasperation.

Professor McGonagall came forward with a long scroll of yellowed parchment.

**"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said "Abbot, Hannah," **

**A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moments pause — **

**"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat. **

**The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Hari saw the ghost of Hufflepuff waving merrily at her. **

**"Bones, Susan!" **

**"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah. **

**Boot, Terry!" **

**"RAVENCLAW!" **

**The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them. **

**"Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Hari could see** red-headed twin brothers catcalling.

**"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. Perhaps it was Hari's imagination, after all she'd heard about Slytherin, but she thought they looked like an unpleasant lot. **

**"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!" **

**"HUFFLEPUFF!" **

**Sometimes, Hari noticed, the hat shouted out the house at once, but at others it took a little while to decide. "Finnigan, Seamus," the sandy-haired boy next to Hari in the line, sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor. **

**"Granger, Hermione!" **

**Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head. **

**"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. **

Hari smiled until the red-headed boy groaned loudly, Hari scowled at him.

When the brown haired boy -Neville Longbottom, who's cloak was still fastened under his ear- was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR," Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag."

**Malfoy swaggered forward when his name was called and got his wish at once: the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!" **

Hari strongly thought it was because the hat didn't want to touch his greasy head.

**Malfoy went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself. **

**There weren't many people left now. "Moon"… , "Nott"… , **

"Parkinson, Pansy," the pug-faced girl sat on the stool for a few seconds until the hat called out "SLYTHERIN"

Then Padma and her twin Parvati were called and sorted into Ravenclaw and Gryffindor respectively.

Then "Perks, Sally-Anne"… , and then, at last —

"Potter, Harriet"

Hari scowled at her full name and then even more at the 'whispered' comments she heard floating around.

"The Hari Potter."

"I didn't think she'd be so short."

"Why is she wearing pants?"

The last thing she saw before the hat was slid over her eyes was Dora at the end of the Hufflepuff table grinning at her.

Hari heard a voice in her head.

"Difficult, very difficult, it's not every year I get to look into such a balanced mind. You're going to be fun to sort. You have plenty of cunning, a bright mind and both courage and loyalty aplenty, but where to put you..."

"Gryffindor, put me with Hermione," pleaded Hari.

"That kind of loyalty to your first friend could easily get you into Hufflepuff... And it seems you have a soft spot for Nymphadora Tonks..."

Now Hari was getting angry, those memories and thoughts are private.

"Put me in Gryffindor or I'll find where they keep you, break in, and light you on fire!"

"Threatening a one thousand year old magical artifact... How ambitious, you would need cunning and intelligence to pull that off. That could seal your entry into either Slytherin or Ravenclaw."

"But it also needs bravery which you said I had a lot of," thought back Hari.

The hat mentally chuckled.

"Very well, very well."

"SLYTHERIN!" Shouted the hat.

There was a deafening silence that was broken by the hats loud laughter.

"I'm only joking! GRYFFINDOR!"

"You little bastard! I Should pack you away without any mothballs!" mentally raved the Irate young girl.

"Calm down, you're the daughter of a Marauder you can take a good prank." Chortled the hat.

"Marauder, what's that?"

"They were a group of pranksters that made the very foundations of this castle tremble. Your father was their leader and frontman. Talk to your head of house, she can tell you better than I could."

That was as far as they got because McGonagall came and removed the hat from Hari's head.

Hermione's POV

_"She's been taking a long time." _

Hermione sighed, Hari had been sitting on that stool for five minutes. Occasionally, she could see a flicker of frustration cross her friend's face but other than that...

The 'mouth' of the hat finally opened and Hermione leaned forward eager to hear the verdict.

"SLYTHERIN!"

_"Wha-what, is going on here. How is Hari a Slytherin that can't be tru-"_

Hermione's mental break down ground to a halt when she heard the hat laughing

"I'm joking! GRYFFINDOR!"

The hat was taken off Hari's head and and she walked shakily to sit next to Hermione.

Hari's POV

Hari plopped down next to Hermione looking pale and shaking.

Hermione turned a concerned eye towards her friend.

"What's wrong? What took so long? Why did the Hat say Slytherin first? Well, aren't you going to answer?"

She said this all very fast and in a high-pitched voice.

Hari couldn't help it. She tried to hold it in, but it was impossible.

She laughed.

And then she laughed even more at Hermione's indignant expression.

"Sor-sorry," snickered Hari, shoulder's shaking with barely contained laughter.

Hari looked sat Hermione.

"The Hat called out Slytherin as a joke, it said my dad was a prankster and to ask McGonagall about it."

Hermione nodded.

"I was up there for so long because the hat said I could've gone to any house." Hari said, not telling her about having to beg for Gryffindor.

Hermione looked thoughtful.

"The Hat wanted to put me into Ravenclaw but decided at the last second that Gryffindor would be the best house for m-"

-"Weasley, Ronald"

The tall, gangly, red-headed, and freckled boy with the smudge of dirt on his nose was looking slightly green as he walked up to and put the Hat on.

"GRYFFINDOR!" Shouted the hat almost immediately.

He took the hat off and wobbled to the table to sit next to Neville while three people who must be his family congratulated him.

Finally "Zabini, Blaise" was sorted into Slytherin. The hat and stool was taken away and Professor McGonagall took her seat to the right of who could only be the Headmaster.

Hari looked at her plate and realized how hungry she was. She had not bought anything off the trolley and was terribly hungry. Hermione looked the same.

Headmaster Dumbledore rang a bell to get their attention and stood up arms open as though he wished to personally welcome them to Hogwarts.

"Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!

"Thank you!"

He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Hari didn't know whether to laugh or not.

"Is he a bit... off?" Hari asked the oldest red haired brother who introduced himself as Percy Weasley.

"Of course he is," said Percy arily. "He's a genius, best wizard in the world."

-Scene Change-

Hari laid on the bed that was to be hers for the next seven years thinking back on the feast and the end of the night.

She had gotten to know her fellow first year Gryfindors. There are four girls and four boys in her year. Besides Hari and Hermione the two other girls, Parvati Patil, the twin to Padma who Hari had shared a boat with, and Lavender Brown a blond haired gossip queen. Hari thought that they were nice but they were a bit too giggly for Hari to be more than passing friends with them.

The four boys were pretty nice. They were named Neville Longbottom, Ronald Weasley, Dean Thomas, and Seamus Finnegan. Neville was a kind, shy, round faced boy with dark brown hair and admitted to having a bad memory. Dean was dark skinned and the tallest boy in first year. Seamus was sandy haired and talked with a heavy Irish accent. Ron was also tall and was fun to be around when he wasn't being unintentionally mean (mostly to Hermione, which lost him points).

And they all talked about their families and when everyone had finished they turned to Hari to hear about hers, Hermione had held her hand under the table, helping her to only lightly touch on them and instead talk about her trip to Diagon Alley with Hagrid.

After the food (which was brilliant) had vanished, Professor Dumbledore had a few announcements about school rules. Then he warned them to stay away from the third floor corridor unless they wanted to 'die a very painful death'.

He then gave them (in Hari's opinion) the most important news of the night.

-Flash back-

_"To our older students this will hardly be important so I ask of you to sit quietly while I talk at the first years." _

_He looked at them solemnly over the rim of his half-moon glasses, the twinkle in his blue eyes seemed to have gone out. _

_"It's unfortunate that with muggleborn and muggle raised students we often find it necessary to give them a full exam to correct any harm that may have befallen them whilst in the care of their parents or guardians. For you see, it is often the case that those student's relatives do not understand or even fear their gift and they have been horribly mistreated. That is why the mugleborn and raised children shall have physical examinations with our school healer. If Madam Pomfry finds any damage she will do her utmost to correct it. I assure you that anything she may find will be kept between the two of you." _

Hari gulped.

_"This is it."_ Thought Hari _"They're going to find out about how the Dursley's had mistreated me." _

Hari was nervous, she had hoped that she would be able to bury what the Dursley's had done, that coming to Hogwarts would be a clean slate and she could forget the neglect they had heaped upon her.

_"One day,"_ mentally groaned Hari, _"One bloody day and already my past is being dredged up." _

With that uneasy thought Hari turned over and fell into an uneasy slumber.

Authors note:

I didn't have any alternate names to pick from for this chapter.

About this bloody chapter:  
>I wrote ths over the course of three days and had to fight with myself to get this chapter out. Every scene had complications with how to set the scene and how much detail to go into even things like dialog - which I usually have no trouble writing. UGGH<p>

About POV Changes:  
>This is probably the most involved tedious thing I've ever written.<p>

About Tonks (Part Deux/The Hero Hari Deserves, -And- the One She Needs):  
>I'm making Tonks a total badass in this story, at the moment she's hiding behind her bumbling, perky, pink exterior. She's the kind of badass that comes from sneaking into the restricted section, disabling the enchantments, and studying late into the night.<p>

About Copyrights (and not suing me):  
>I don't own the song that Hari sings on the train. In fact, I won't own any of the songs anyone sings in this story.<p>

About easily made friendships:  
>In canon Harry and Ron become friends over the candy that he shares with Ron, what better way to gain Hermione's friendship than by sharing knowledge. That, and standing up to Malfoy, sealed their friendship.<p>

About OOC:  
>I know Hermione seems out of character in this chapter but I think that one of the reasons Hermione was so standoff-ish to Harry and Ron was that she wanted to be their friend but didn't know how to do that (like how a boy with a crush will bully the girl he has a likes). Since she made friends with Hari so easily she's more relaxed about things.<p>

About clothing:  
>I don't know if it's clear in the chapter text but the only difference in Hari's uniform from the other girl's are the inclusion of trousers and the exclusion of skirts.<p>

About Horrible, Extreme, Right Wing Ranting:  
>This was the most challenging thing to write in this chapter because I'm pretty liberal (Writing a story about underage lesbians) and basically had to write against everything I believe in. In the end I didn't like it so I scrapped it, so you'll have to let your imagination run wild to fill that space.<p>

About word-for-word writing:  
>If I have an excerpt from the books it's because I couldn't think of anything better to put there or the text summed up what I wanted to say better than I could. The bold bits are directly from the book.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

AN: If it's not obvious I don't own Harry Potter. I'm just substituting J.K. Rowling's reality with my own.

Hope you like horrifically long chapters!

Chapter four

Flying, Classes, The Head Snake, and Trolls In the Dungeon!

September 2, 1991

Hari woke up unbearably early after a particularly realistic nightmare about the death of her parents. Sighing to herself and knowing she would never be able to get back to sleep she began her morning rituals.

Entering the common room in her uniform she had her bag slung over her shoulder and her copy of The Magical Practitioners Pocket Handbook in her right hand.

Hari walked to an armchair by the dying fireplace. Tutting, she pointed her wand at the embers and muttered:

_"Lacarnum Inflamare!" _

Almost at once a comfortably warm blue fire was blazing away in the grate.

She whiled away the early morning hours reading the chapter on spell theory and practicing wand movements.

An hour and a half later the early birds began to stumble their way down the stairs from their dormitories. All of them took a strange look at the totally awake firstie wearing a boys uniform and practicing magic before she had had her first lesson.

So engrossed was Hari that she hadn't seen an excited Hermione approach her.

"Hi Hari, good morning!"

Startled, Hari had pointed her wand at the voice and had a hex on the tip of her tongue until

she realized who had spoken to her.

"Jesus, Hermione, don't sneak up on me like that!"

Hermione was looking bemused.

"I didn't sneak up on you. I walked up to you from your front, giving you plenty of time to

notice me."

Looking abashed at being so jumpy Hari shrugged.

"So, what's up?" Said Hari with a smile.

"I was wondering if you wanted to get some breakfast? We need to get there early so we can get our schedules from Professor McGonagall and come back for our books." Hermione said with her hands behind her back.

Hari put her book and wand in her bag, heaved herself up, and linked her arm with Hermione who then pulled her towards the portrait hole.

Arriving at the Great Hall Hari and Hermione took a seat close to the door- not wanting to fight the crowds of departing students.

The two girls had nearly finished their breakfast when they heard the stern voice of their Head of House.

"Ms. Granger, Ms. Potter, here are your schedules, on the back there are directions to each classroom. I expect you to be on time to class ready to learn."

She handed two slips of parchment to Hari and Hermione.

"I would like to talk to you, Ms. Potter, in my office before class so come early."

It was not a request so Hari nodded, nervous as to what she could be in trouble for before her first class.

Hari gulped

"Yes Professor."

Professor McGonagall nodded and left.

Hari turned to Hermione.

"What do you suppose that could be about?"

Hermione shrugged but Hari could tell she was also nervous.

The two students looked at their schedules:

_Monday: _

_Transfiguration (Single) _

_Free (single) _

_Lunch _

_Potions (single) _

_Charms (single) _

_Dinner _

_Tuesday: _

_Herbology (double) _

_Lunch _

_Defense (double) _

_Dinner _

_Wednesday: _

_History (double) _

_Lunch _

_Charms (single) _

_Potions (single) _

_Dinner _

_Thursday: _

_Transfiguation (double) _

_lunch _

_Charms (single) _

_Potions (single) _

_Friday: _

_Herbology (single) _

_Defense (single) _

_Lunch _

_History (single) _

_Free (single) _

_Dinner _

_Saturday: _

_Astronomy -midnight- (double) _

Twenty minutes later Hari entered McGonagall's class alone while Hermione stood in the hall.

Professor McGonagall was sitting straight backed behind her desk.

"Come in Ms. Potter," came the Scottish burr of the stern professor.

"Y-you wanted to talk to me Professor McGonagall?"

McGonagall nodded

"Yes, sit down"

She did.

"Ms. Potter, I noticed that you're not wearing the correct uniform and was wondering why?"

Hari smiled a bit and told her why she isn't wearing a skirt, then she told McGonagall her of her conversation with Madam Malkin.

The Professor frowned when she heard of the Dursley's treatment of Hari, and looked thoughtful when she heard what Madam Malkin said about dress code.

Finally Professor McGonagall spoke:

"Very well, I will relay to the other teachers that your slacks are to be allowed. I will write you a note to this effect, show it to anyone who gives you a hard time over it."

She handed Hari a small slip of paper and nodded to the empty desks in the main classroom.

"Take a seat, class will begin shortly."

-Time Skip-

It seemed that for all of Hari's understanding of the theory of basic Transfiguration she didn't have much by means of natural talent. It was as if her wand fought her when she tried the spell to turn a matchstick into a needle and in the end only Hermione had managed to make any major progress.

When Transfiguration ended the first year Gryffindors had a free period so Hermione dragged Hari to the library to get started on their first piece of homework (an essay on the theory of turning a small inanimate object into another small inanimate object).

Hari was writing her opener when Hermione interrupted her.

"Hari, why are you using calligraphy pens? Our supply list says we're to use quills."

Hari sighed.

"Hermione, your a muggleborn, can you honestly tell me you were looking forward to using a bloody feather to write with for the next seven years."

Hermione hesitated for a second before shaking her head.

"No, I thought it was a bit silly, I just assumed it was for a reason-"

"It is," interrupted Hari, "you're supposed to be able to compile your notes into a grimoire, and writing on parchment and using heavy inks makes it easier and bind and enchant it. But my writing is bad enough as it is and using a quill makes it nearly impossible to read. So I use a fountain pen, It makes my writing look nice and keeps everything neat."

Hermione looked nervous.

"What if a teacher calls you on them?"

Hari smiled a bit.

"I still have quills and ink in my bag. I just won't use them unless a teacher forces me to."

Hermione looked down, dejected.

"I wish I had thought to buy some."

She sighed.

Hari thought that Hermione looked so endearingly downtrodden that she couldn't help but smile.

"Hermione."

She looked up at Hari, hope shining in her eyes.

"Why don't you use Hedwig to ask your parents to send a set, nibs and ink? Until they get here I'll give you one of my pens."

Hermione beamed and jumped on Hari squeezing her tightly.

"Her-Hermione... Can't breath..."

"Oh!"

Hermione jumped back as though burned.

"I-I'm sorry!" Hermione mumbled, her cheeks red.

Hari shrugged.

"It's okay."

Hari handed Hermione a dark blue pen with brass trimming. Hermione wrote a few lines with her new pen then handed the parchment to Hari.

"I can see the difference."

And she could; where before Hermione's composition was a barely legible mess, now her script was neat and tidy.

Hermione smiled, pulled a new sheet of parchment to her, and set about rewriting everything.

The two worked in comfortable silence until the lunch bell rang.

-Scene Change-

After lunch they had Potions with the Slytherins.

Entering the classroom Hari couldn't help but feel all hope leaving her.

The room was dark; so dark that Hari could barely see the other side of the room over the fumes wafting out of cauldrons set up in the middle of the class. It was cold as well as wet, the room smelt of mold and Uncle Vernon's old socks.

And then the students heard it; a soft, silky, whisper of a voice.

"Get in, take your seats, wands away," the curt voice of Potions Master Severus Snape called out.

Taking her seat next to Hermione Hari looked at the teacher; He had sallow skin, greasy black hair that hung like lank curtains framing his face, a large nose, and cold dark eyes that reminded Hari of black holes.

Noticing that the teacher was speaking Hari hastened to listen-.

**"-earn the subtle science and exact art of potion making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word — like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort. **

**"As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death — if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."**

Out of the corner of her eye Hari saw Hermione looking positively indignant at being compared to a dunderhead.

"I will now call roll, if you are present you are to answer with a simple 'here'.

And on it went until he called out "Potter, Harriet."

Hari frowned at the use of her first name.

"Ah, yes..." Drawled Snape, "Potter, our latest -celebrity."

He addressed the class -mostly the Slytherin side.

"I think that we should test the mighty Harriet (Hari flinched) Potter's knowledge."

The Slytherins -led by Draco Malfoy- sniggered.

The odious potioneer leered at Hari.

"Tell me Potter; **What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" **

Hari panicked; In her reading, Potions hadn't interested her so she had barely glossed over her texts. Besides, just like with Transfiguration she couldn't exactly practice (not having the items needed for the spell work -how the hell would she find a match in the magical world, it's not as though she could go into the muggle world and buy them, she was eleven for Merlin's sake) because Potions are said to be incredibly dangerous; it's not like with a spell where if you make a mistake you just need to apply the counter-spell, Potions need to be treated with Potions.

Hari sighed.

"I-I don't know sir."

Hari hated that she had stuttered in her answer but there was something about Snape that didn't sit well with her -it unnerved her.

Snape sneered at her.

**"Tut, tut — fame clearly isn't everything." **

He ignored Hermione's wiggling outstretched hand.

"Lets try again shall we. Where do Bezoars come from, Potter?"

That one Hari remembered; it had been mentioned in the very first chapter of her book entitled: Common Antidotes.

"They come from the stomach of a goat."

Snape frowned momentarily then he sneered.

"Well, even a dog will learn something correctly if you beat it hard enough."

**Snape was still ignoring Hermione's quivering hand. **

**"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?" **

Another thing Hari didn't know.

She sighed.

"I don't know, sir," Hari tacked on the 'sir' as an afterthought.

The greasy git smirked.

"Potter is once again ignorant, it seems that the natural order has been restored."

The Slytherins laughed loudly.

**"For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Drought of Living Death.** As much as it pains me to say it; you had guessed correctly on the Bezoar -which is a stone that can treat most poisons. **As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?" **

"I'll be giving you a point for your one correct answer and taking five points each for your ignorance."

He glared at her as if daring her to say something about his unfairness.

After that, Snape had lectured them on basic ingredient preparation, then set them on making what should've been a simple boil curing potion.

Ten minutes in; Neville Longbottom made a mistake in his brewing and managed to blow up his cauldron covering himself and the people surrounding him in a mild acid that was eating through their robes and uniform. Neville was moaning in pain as his skin blistered.

"Idiot boy!" Snarled Snape.

He waved his wand and vanished the inadvertent bio-weapon as well as putting everyone's clothes to rights.

He pointed to Seamus.

"You, get Longbottom to the Hospital wing."

He turned to Hari who was sitting three rows from where Neville had been working and remained untouched by the explosion.

**''You — Potter — why didn't you tell him not to add the quills?" **

"Thought you would look good in comparison, did you? That's another five points you've lost Gryffindor."

Hari was about to retort when Hermione stomped on her foot.

"Shush!" Hissed Hermione, "I've heard Professor Snape can turn very nasty, very quick."

Hari turned to her Potion; it looked nothing like how the book described it looking when made correctly.

-Scene Change-

An hour later they were climbing the steps to their dorm room to collect what they would need for charms class with the Hufflepuffs.

Coming upon the open classroom door the students entered. The room, was bright and airy, the teacher's desk was covered in scrolls and large tomes, and the whole room smelt like chalk and old parchment.

Sitting in their seats they waited a moment until they heard a squeaky voice calling for attention.

"Good afternoon class, My name is Professor Filius Flitwick and this is First Year Charms class. If this is not where you need to be tell me and I'll point you in the right direction."

Hari smiled, Professor Flitwick was a happy little man with black hair and a mustache. He seemed to be very energetic. Just what Hari needed after a period of the strict Professor McGonagall and the dour and harsh Professor Snape.

After taking roll he spent the entire period lecturing to them on magical theory.

-Scene Change-

Putting their school things away they went to the great hall for dinner.

In the middle of the meal Hedwig came to Hari with a note from Hagrid requesting she and Hermione visit him on Sunday. After sending the owl away with an affirmative answer they made their way to the Gryffindor common room where Hermione and Hari entered their dorm to gather the things they would need to do that night's homework.

Two hours later they went back to their room to relax after a hard first day of class.

They fell asleep thirty minutes later after talking and listening to Hari practice on the Lily Flower.

-Scene Change-

September 3, 1991

Hari woke up early again and after taking her shower she dressed in her uniform, grabbed what she'd need for the days classes, and the Lily Flower and headed down to the common room.

Twenty-five minutes later Hari was joined by Hermione who quietly listened to Hari strum her guitar. When people came down to get ready to start the day they stopped and listened to the oblivious little girl play around with the basic chords. By dinnertime the rather exaggerated rumor that Hari Potter was a master musician will have circulated amongst the students and ghosts.

After securing the Lily Flower in her trunk the two friends made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast, then they went to their first period class.

Herbology, Hari decided, would be tough in the physical sense because after taking roll call Professor Sprout, a short, plump witch in dirt stained clothes, told them what they would be covering in the fall/winter term. Half of the plants were bigger than her and she wouldn't be able to stun or bind them with magic, she'd have to wrestle with them to get them to do what she wanted.

Several hours later a sweaty, grimy Hari and Hermione were eating lunch when they had an unwanted visitor in Draco Malfoy and his three stupid followers.

"Potter, Granger," came the unpleasant sneering voice of the Slytherin Albino Ferret."

He slammed a school flyer on the table, it read:

_FLYING LESSONS: _

_First Years must have lessons on proper broomstick handling and maintenance starting the second Saturday of the new term. The following houses have class together: _

_Gryffindor-Slytherin, morning _

_Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw, afternoon _

_(Second year students won't be allowed a broomstick until they pass this course) _

"You better watch yourself Potter, a lot of accidents have been known to happen high up in the air."

Without waiting to hear their response he and the other Slytherins turned laughed their way back to their table.

Hari was fuming.

"How dare that little rodent come to our table and threaten us!"

She started to pull out her wand to try out a few hexes she had read about when Hermione roughly grabbed her forearm.

"H-Hari," Hermione whispered, "If I tell you something will you promise to keep it to yourself and not laugh at me?"

Intrigued, Hari nodded.

Hermione stood up and duck-walked Hari to the nearest broomcloset. Yanking the door open, she entered, pulling Hari in with her.

"Hermione what's goi-"

Hermione pointed her wand at the door.

_"Silencio! Colloportus!" _

Satisfied she nodded and turned to a bemused looking Hari.

"What's going on?" She repeated herself.

Hermione mumbled something.

"Huh?" Said Hari eloquently.

Hermione took a deep breath and looked Hari in the eye.

"I'm afraid of heights."

Hari quirked her eyebrow in question.

"This isn't something you can learn out of a book. What if I fall? -Broomsticks don't have seatbelts.- What if I make an idiot of myself? What if-"

Hari grabbed Hermione's shoulders and shook her.

"-Hermione!"

She stopped and looked at Hari with a scowl.

"You're rambling," Hari said by means of an explanation. "Your right, flying isn't something you can learn out of a book, and there is always a chance of falling off your broom. But you know what?"

Hermione shook her head.

"I'll always be there to catch you," Hari said seriously.

Hari pulled her astonished friend into a firm hug.

Hermione sighed into the embrace, feeling safer than ever before.

She smirked and pretended to swoon

"My knight in dirty school robes, come to save me."

Hari blushed before countering.

"I'll do so only if my beautiful fair maiden doth bestow a kiss of gratitude upon her savior."

Hermione buried her face in the nape of Hari's neck, doing her best imitation of a brown-haired tomato.

"Hari!" Hermione moaned.

Hari chuckled and unlocked and lifted the silencing charm on the closet.

"Come on, we have to get to Defense Class."

She pulled the door open before Hermione could answer only to come face to face with Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown. Both of them had knowing smirks on their face.

"Hari, Hermione, we didn't know you two were together-" began Parvati.

"-We support you all the way, though we don't bat for the hometeam, so to speak-" continued Lavender.

"-If you want Couple Time in the dorm room all you have to do is ask and we'll be sure to leave-" said Parvati.

"-Just be sure to cast air freshening charms when your done-" Lavender teased.

"-If you want us to run interference...-" Parvati trailed off, successfully passing the taunt to Lavender.

"-I know Hari's in trousers but which one of you wears the pants in the relationshi-"

"-Stop it!" Shouted both Hari and Hermione, red in the face.

"We aren't together," continued Hari, whose brain had overheated at the words 'couple time'.

"We're just friends," said Hermione firmly, hoping that would end the matter.

Not going to happen.

"Just friends?" Said Parvati skeptically, she turned to Lavender in question.

"I don't know... 'just friends' don't pull each other into broom closets, silence and lock the door, and leave twenty minutes later with rumpled clothing and flushed faces."

Lavender tapped her chin with her index finger in mock thought.

Hari turned and stomped away before they could get the ball rolling again.

Hermione glared at the Gryffindor first year gossip queens one last time before running to catch up with Hari.

Hari had just rounded the corner when she felt Hermione come up to her side and grab her left hand between both of hers. Hari felt herself instantly relax.

"You alright?" Asked Hermione in concern.

"Yeah," sighed Hari. "c'mon lets get to class."

-Scene Change-

Defense Against the Dark Arts had been what Hari was looking forward to the most since Ollivander had told her about her wand's specialty. Unfortunately, the teacher was a bit of an idiot.

Professor Quirinus Quirrell was a skinny man in his early thirties. Hari didn't kow what colour his hair was because he wore a large, absurd, purple turban that he claimed was a gift from a grateful African prince; given to him when he 'got rid of a troublesome zombie'. Hari didn't believe this because Quirrell was so nervous and his stutter so bad he could barely get through the lesson, let alone the incantation for advanced magic in a combat situation.

Hari sighed as she sat down for dinner. She supposed she could always keep teaching herself defensive magic in her free time.

-Scene Change-

Hermione and Hari were in the Gryffindor common room doing homework when Professor McGonagall entered through the portrait hole.

"Excuse me!" She called out in a clear voice.

The common room quieted immediately.

"Thank you, first year muggleborn and muggleraised students your medical examinations are to be held this Friday after your afternoon free period. You are to be in this room waiting for me to collect you. The exams last for a while so I suggest you bring something to hold your attention. That is all, Thank you.

She turned and left.

Hermione looked to Hari and shrugged before bending over her Defense essay (List the three types of offensive spells and define them in your own words).

Hari was very quiet the rest of the night.

-Scene Change-

September 5th, 1991

Finally, Friday's free period was over with and as Hari and Hermione waited for Professor McGonagall along with the only other muggleborn in their year; Dean Thomas, Hari thought back on the last few days:

_The rest of the week was rather boring; History was taught by Professor Binns, a ghost with a proclivity to drone on and on about goblin rebellions -whose dry, reedy, voice could put Hari to sleep in an instant. _

_In Charms class; Flitwick told them that they would not be performing any actual magic until Halloween and continued to lecture them on magical theory; in which Hari and Hermione kept meticulous notes. _

_Potions had turned into some kind of hour long torture; Snape would call them (the Gryffindors) Idiots, then he would lecture on which ingredients would work together and why. after that he'd set them on brewing a potion that exemplified the ingredients he lectured about, all the while taking points from Gryffindor and rewarding Slytherin for doing the same thing. Neville (and sometimes Hari) would usually melt a cauldron in some spectacular way. _

_In Transfiguration class Hermione became the first to finally succeed in turning her matchstick into a needle, followed by Ron Weasley. Hari was only barely able to transfigure her matchstick partially, It seemed as though she needed to put a lot of effort into even the most basic of transfigurations. _

Finally Professor McGonagall entered the tower.

"You three, follow me."

Entering the currently empty hospital wing they were greeted by an older witch in healer robes.

"These are the only Gryffindors, Minerva?" questioned the Healer.

"Yes, Poppy," She turned to the students, "this is Madam Pomfrey, she has been the healer at this school for thirty years."

Madam Pomfrey looked to them and told them that she would let them figure out the order they would be taken.

Dean would be up first then Hermione and finally Hari.

Both Dean and Hermione were quickly in and out with a clean bill of health.

Hermione wanted to wait for Hari but McGonagall had her head up to the common room.

Hari entered the examination area and was told to sit on the bench-like bed.

Madam Pomfrey waved her wand around casting all sorts of diagnostic charms, frowning all the while.

"Your growth has been stunted by at least a few inches and your bone density is less than what it should be, you're missing some very important vitamins and minerals, your immune system is also weak. Ms. Potter did your relatives not feed you enough?"

Hari knew it would be impossible to lie to the nurse so she settled for nodding and then looking away in embarrassment.

Madam Pomfrey's scowl melted into a sympathetic frown.

She sighed sadly.

"Did they ever... hit you?"

Hari shook her head no.

"There were a few times when I thought they would've but they always got a blank look in their eyes and stopped. It always used to confuse me but now I think it was a bit of accidental magic trying to protect me."

Madam Pomfrey muttered something.

"I'll need to give you several potions, so come in every morning before breakfast to take them."

Hari nodded.

"If you stick with the regimen you should be caught up with your peers by the time the holiday break is here."

Hari hesitated.

"Madam Pomfrey, what about my clothes? If I'm growing so much my clothes won't fit."

The healer smiled.

"Not to worry dear, all wizarding clothes are charmed to grow with their wearer -to a certain point."

Hari frowned.

"But most of my wardrobe is muggle clothes that won't have that charm on them," whined Hari.

Madam Pomfrey looked thoughtful.

"Why don't we have a house elf bring your trunk down here and I'll charm your clothes for you," suggested Poppy, and with that the elderly matron called "Bippy!"

-Scene Change-

An hour later Hari was being escorted back to Gryffindor Tower by a bleary-eyed Professor McGonagall.

Entering through the portrait hole Hari saw only Hermione still awake in the common room.

The brunette looked up from her chair by the fire.

"Hari!" Shouted Hermione, jumping up from her seat and rushing over to the black haired girl.

Hari smiled.

"What's up, Hermione," questioned Hari, "Why are you still awake?"

Hermione softly hit Hari's arm with the back of her hand.

"I was worried, you've been gone ages."

Hari's smile widened at her bookish friend's caring.

"Well, I'm alright. I was just having a talk with Madam Pomfrey."

Hari nodded.

"Why don't we explore the castle tomorrow afternoon, we've got our homework done so lets unwind a bit?"

Hermione beamed.

"I'd love to!"

"Come on," said Hari leading Hermione up the staircase and to their dorm room.

-Scene Change-

September 6th, 1991

Hari and Hermione both woke early, excited for the weekend.

After showering they descended the stairs to the common room. Hari was dressed in a blue t-shirt, her purple hoody and leather jacket, she wore light blue jeans over her boots. her bag was slung over her shoulder, in it she had her wand, second journal, pen, and a book she had picked up in one of her subsequent visits to Flourish and Blott's; _Dueling: Common Yet Unexpected Spells To Use Too Great Effect. _

Hermione wore a soft green jumper, and a knee-length dark gray pleated skirt, white knee-socks and black mary jane flats, her hair was tied in a bushy pony tail. She also had a book that she carried in her bare hand -but it was on a branch of magic that neither of them would have a class on until their third year; _Ancient Runes for Amateurs. _

"Ready to go?" Hermione asked with a smile, looping her right arm through Hari's left.

Hari was about to answer in the affirmative when she remembered what she promised Madam Pomfrey.

"Er - not yet, I have to go to the hospital wing before we go eat."

Hermione looked at her in concern.

"What's wrong?"

Hari looked away.

"Please tell me," pleaded Hermione.

Hari sighed.

"I'll explain on the way, come with me."

-Scene Change-

Entering the Hospital wing with a seething Hermione in tow; Hari called for Madam Pomfrey.

Bustling out of her office the stern healer said:

"There you are, I was wondering if I'd have to send Bippy, the House-Elf, after you."

She pointed to a table that had an assortment of vials and flasks upon it.

After swallowing the foul tasting liquid the Healer asked:

"Is there anything else you need?"

Hari looked at her apoplectic-with-rage friend and smirked.

"Maybe a Calming Drought for Hermione -She seems to need it."

Hermione snapped.

"Don't even think about it Harriet Roslyn Potter!"

She started to pace in front of an amused Poppy and a stunned Hari.

"I should grab the book with the nastiest Hexes and Curses I could find and use the _Dursley's _as target practice!"

She spat out the family name like a nasty curse word.

She looked like she was about to launch into another diatribe about what she would like to do to the Dursley family so Hari did the only thing she could think of to do:

She put her hand over Hermione's mouth to quiet her and mimed deep breathing to calm her.

Getting the hint, Hermione did just that and a few minutes later the two eleven year olds left the Hospital wing and an amused Madam Pomfrey behind.

-Scene Change-

The two young girls had mentally mapped out the quickest route to get to their classes and the library and the location of many restrooms along the way. They had also been told by an upperclassmen of a secret passageway that allowed someone to get from Gryffindor Tower to the Great Hall in half the time it normally took to traverse the winding staircases and long corridors, It seemed as though Godric Gryffindor was a laid back kind of guy because rumor has it that Gryffindor himself built that shortcut for his and his students convenience.

Exiting the Great Hall where they had just finished lunch they walked around the lake having sparse conversation but mostly in a comfortable silence.

Currently, Hari and Hermione sat reading their books in the shade of a large Ash tree in an out-of-the-way alcove they had found sometime when they both started to get a bit tired.

Looking up from her section about the uses of an Engorging Charm in a combat situation Hari turned to Hermione who had her nose deep in her Runes book.

"Hermione, why are you reading about an elective most people don't think about until third year?"

Hermione, looking up at Hari's voice, had a red face until she saw that Hari was genuinely curious and not making fun of her.

"I've always been good at languages; besides English I can speak French, Spanish, German, and I was learning Mandarin before I came to Hogwarts. Ancient Runes is just another language. I have always had a logical, scientific mind and runes help tell me how magic works instead of just accepting that it does work, I'm also studying Arithmancy for the same scientific curiosity."

Hermione breathed after her long sentence.

"My turn, Why are you so interested in offensive and defensive spellwork?"

Hari was quiet for a few minutes before looking at Hermione with an intense expression on her face.

She spoke quietly but firmly.

"I don't want to be a victim anymore."

Hermione was a bit bewildered and scooted closer to her black haired friend.

"What do you mean 'victim', Hari, what happened to you?"

Hari clenched her fists tightly, as though longing to lash out at some unseen foe.

"I spent my entire childhood afraid of what my relatives would do to me if I didn't conform with their version of the status quo. They never beat me but I could tell that they wanted to. It was like some unseen force kept the worst of it at bay. But it was the fact that they wanted to hit me, they wanted to hurt a defenseless little girl.

Hari got up and started to pace.

Hermione looked on worriedly before taking out her wand and casting a silencing charm all around their private area.

"I'm their family, we're supposed to love each other, and at the beginning I did, I tried so hard to be perfect so so they would be proud of me... So that they would love me, I thought that I must've done something wrong, something that made them despise me. Did you know that in the beginning my cousin Dudley and I were great friends? Yeah, when we were four years old his parents (mostly Uncle Vernon) finally succeeded in turning him against me. They used to punish him for being kind to me and that did nothing but make him dig his heels in harder about our friendship, so to speak, Dudley is nothing if not stubborn. When we were four years old we had a fight. It was the stupid kind of fight that children have, I don't even remember what it was about, Petunia and Vernon must've seen this as their big chance because they tried something different; they started praising him, rewarding him for being mean to me. His rewards got more and more extravagant with his escalating disdain for me when one day, just after my tenth birthday, he broke my right forearm left shin bone with a cricket bat he found at the playground. And you know what they did when they found me laying in the park three hours later with horribly swollen limbs? They praised Dudley. They bought him an air rifle. To this day I think they were hoping that he would shoot me. They couldn't hurt me themselves but Dudley could so they encouraged him."

She wiped furiously at the angry tears that she could no longer hold back.

"When I learned about the magical world and that I was a witch I promised myself to get as strong as possible, I refuse to be that helpless, neglected, little girl again!"

She started out talking in a whisper that slowly rose in volume until she was shouting. Like when she had played the Lily Flower on the train her magic had reacted to her heightened emotions; it swirled around her whipping up an unseen wind until, at last, her restraint broke.

She turned on her heel, at the same time drawing her wand and Hari roared to the heavens the strongest destructive spell the first year knew:

_"Bombarda!" _

The outcropping of rocks she had pointed her wand at were instantly broken into small, sharp, pebbles.

With the release of Hari's spell her magic relaxed and the petite girl sunk to her knees screaming her pain and frustration at the Dursleys, her unwanted fame, and the loss of parents that she would never get to know.

The angry tears who's flow had slowed started up again and streamed down her face as she repeatedly struck the rocky ground hard enough to break the skin on her left hand knuckles, drawing blood.

Hermione POV

Hermione was worried; what had started out as an innocuous question on what had simply seemed to be Hari's favorite subject had quickly turned into an emotional release that Hari must have been holding in for a long time.

_"Bombarda!" _

Hermione felt her tenuous hold on her Silencing Charm break as Hari's spell connected with with a bunch of rocks ten paces away.

And then Hari was screaming a scream of such anguish that the tears she had been holding in finally fell down her cheeks. Uncaring that her closest friend had just pulverized a group of large rocks into dust, Hermione ran to her; the thought that Hari could hurt her if she was not careful never entered her brilliant mind; Hari needed her, and nothing would stop Hermione from being there for her.

Hari's POV

Hari felt a soft touch around her shoulders and was drawn into the most comforting hug she had ever remembered experiencing.

A voice cooed softly into Hari's ear.

"I'm here, I'm here Hari, you'll never be alone again. I'm here. I promise."

Hari looked up at the tender voice to see what Hari, in her tear filled vision, thought must be an angel, only to see that it was Hermione; her back was to the setting sky and the golden glare of the sun seemed to make her hair into a halo of soft light. She was crying as much as Hari was but she also had a small, comforting, smile upon her lips.

"Hermione," croaked Hari.

Hermione gently squeezed Hari in answer.

"Thank you."

Hari's head fell onto Hermione's shoulder.

Dora's POV

Nymphadora Tonks was just about done eating in the nearly empty Great Hall when Hari and Hermione entered for lunch. As the two firsties started eating Dora caught a bit of their conversation; they were going to explore the grounds.

Quickly deciding to follow her favorite first years; she waited until they were out of the building then dissillusioned herself before following them around the lake when they found an out-of-the-way area with an ash tree and surrounded by rocks and bushes.

She listened to them talk until the conversation turned into a loud rant and Hermione quickly silenced the area for privacy.

Frowning, Tonk's drew her wand and with it made a series of sharp thrusting motions that allowed her magic to pierce a hole in the charm helping Dora to continue to eaves drop without crashing the ward. Hermione had some natural talent but she was still a first year and Tonks was at the top of her seventh year class.

What she heard sickened her.

Dora was thinking up some truly gruesome punishment she'd like to hand out to the Dursleys when she heard an explosion followed quickly by a shockwave that shattered the silencing charm and blew out the eardrum of the ear that she was using to listening in on their talk.

Absently noting that the amount of power it would take to do what Hari's spell had done was impressive for a Fourth Year let alone a first year -Tonk's set about healing her heavily bleeding ear while Hermione rushed to embrace the raven haired girl.

Seeing that Hermione had everything well in hand, Tonk's made her way to the Room of Requirement; she had to work off her own anger at Hari's thrice-damned relatives. Dora was happy she'd have a reason to practice her Entrails-Expelling Curse.

Hari's POV

"Come on," Hermione said quietly, "lets get you to the hospital wing so Madam Pomfrey can fix up your hand."

Hari brought her fist up to her face and inspected her knuckles; the skin was gone in most areas and the wound was freely bleeding.

"No," Hari shook her head, "If we go to the hospital wing I'll have to explain what happened. We'll just treat it ourselves. Lets get to the dorm room we can wash it up there then I'll heal it myself."

Hermione looked like she wanted to argue but at the serious look on her friends face she knew it wouldn't do any good.

"Alright, come on."

Hermione gathered up Hari's bag, book, and wand, along with her own book that she also put in Hari's bag. Then she helped Hari up and towards the castle.

-Scene Change-

Hari and Hermione were on the way to the Astronomy Tower with the rest of the Gryffindor first years. No one seemed to take a second glance at Hari's hand which was wrapped in medical gauze.

Arriving at the tower they were met by the Ravenclaws and Professor Aurora Sinistra; a young dark-skinned woman with exotic eyes dressed in sweeping dark blue robes and a pointed witches hat. She wasted no time on roll call and instead started lecturing on why knowing the position of the moon, stars, and planets are necessary in Ritual Magic, Potions and Astrology. After she finished lecturing she brought out a telescope and had the students look at the constellations and planets that she would later have them map out for their homework.

Writing with a bandaged hand was hard but Hari soldiered through it.

-Scene Change-

September 7th, 1991

For once Hari had been able to sleep without a single bad dream the night before. She reckoned that it had something to do with getting all her bad feelings off her chest because she somehow felt lighter this morning than she had in a long time.

Looking over at Hermione's bed she was surprised to see that the brown-haired girl was already up and gone. Shrugging to herself, she got out of bed.

Entering the bathroom on the girls side loo Hari unbound the wound on her knuckles.

Looking at the injury now; it seemed that her internal magic had taken her efforts one step forward while she slept and finished the task of healing her hand but it had done it clumsily; there was now a large amount of thick scar tissue covering her knuckles starting on her index finger and going across her hand until thinning out on her pinky knuckle.

She supposed that she could always ask Hermione to make her some scar reducing salve (a relatively simple second year potion) but she thought that she should keep it as an abject lesson for herself not to lose control like she had the day before. Besides, as the saying goes: chicks dig scars.

Hari grinned at that last thought and went to take a shower then dressing for her visit with Hagrid.

Hermione's POV

Hermione sighed. She had slept terribly after what had happened at the ash tree:

-Flashback-

_When Hari had walked into the dorm she had asked Hermione to get a book from her trunk called: Healing Minor Wounds. _

_Not bothering to ask why Hari had a book on Healing, Hermione had brought it to Hari who had her hand running under warm water in a sink. _

_It was truly worse than Hermione thought; thick layers of skin were just -missing and there were small chunks of rock and dirt embedded in the flesh, but Hari's face had showed no emotion, no glimpse of the pain she must be in, instead she had just held her non-injured hand out silently asking for the book. _

_After finding what she wanted Hari brought her hand out of the water, the wound started bleeding heavily. _

_Hari waved her wand over the inflicted area and said: _

_"Purgare!" _

_The wound fizzed a bit, pushing the debris out before bleeding red. _

_She then pointed her wand at the wound and said: _

_"Tergeo!" _

_The blood that had quickly started to ooze stopped and seemed to crawl up her fingers and _

_re-entered the broken skin. _

_Hari then slowly started to drag her wand over the damaged area, she seemed to be chanting the same thing over and over again (Vulnera Sanentur); the wound started slowly knitting itself shut starting at the outer edges. _

_Hermione knew that this must hurt because she could see Hari's hand and face twitching slightly. It seemed that Hari's concentration had broken because she had stopped chanting with a huge exhalation of breath. _

_The spell didn't seem to work as Hari wanted it because the wound actually seemed larger than when she began. She made a huffing sound when she looked at her still heavily damaged knuckles. _

_Shaking her head in frustration Hari turned back to the book's index. _

_With a smile she flicked and waved her wand at a roll of toilet paper and said: _

_"Tela!" _

_The paper did nothing but wiggle a bit. _

_Growling, she turned to Hermione. _

_"Could you please quickly read the section about this spell and then perform it on that roll of toilet paper?" _

_Hermione nodded shakily and read up on the transfiguration, trying not to look at the injury that Hari was holding in stasis with the Tergeo Charm. _

_Nodding her head, Hermione flicked and waved her wand at a bog roll while clearly speaking the incantation. _

_The paper had quickly transformed itself into a roll of gauze padding. _

_Hari took the book back and quickly flipped through the pages to the index before turning to the middle of the book again. _

_Hari pointed her wand at her wound and reapplied the Tergeo Charm before making a sweeping motion between the roll of gauze and her wound incanting: _

_"Ferula!" _

_The gauze zipped through the air and bound itself tightly to Hari's injured hand. _

_Hari lightly tapped her knuckles and softly said: _

_"Dollorem!" _

_It seemed to take her pain away because she sighed and sagged onto a seat to catch her breath. _

-Back to the Present-

Hermione sighed again...

She had promised to always be there for Hari and she still felt as though she had failed that promise the night before when all she had been able to do for her was a simple transfiguration (and even that had been challenging with how distracted she was.)

Hermione made a promise to herself that she would make herself better, she wouldn't freeze when Hari needed her.

Hermione was drawn out of making herself study schedules by the sound of someone coming down the girl dorm stairs.

It was Hari.

She was dressed in an untucked, white, button down shirt partially covered by a black vest and charcoal gray hooded cloak with silver fasteners, she wore black jeans over her boots, and as always she had her messenger bag slung over her shoulder. Hermione also noticed that the hand that should be bandaged was not so and was instead covered by a red fingerless glove that slipped under her shirt sleeve.

Standing up she made her way over to her friend.

Hari's POV

Hari walked down the stairs and saw that only Hermione seemed to be there.

Hermione was wearing a crimson sweater with gold trim, blue jeans, a black cloak with brass fasteners and trainers. She had the same book on runes open on her lap and her hair was in a loose, messy bun on the top of her head.

Suddenly she looked up and the two girls walked to each other meeting in the middle. They smiled, linked arms, and headed to the Hospital wing for Hari's potions.

After drinking the vile concoctions and eating a late breakfast the duo left the castle and made their way to the keeper of keys home.

Knocking on the large door Hari and Hermione Heard the booming barks of what sounded like a very big dog.

"Alrigh,' Alrigh,' quiet down yeh cowardly dog!"

The door opened to reveal Hagrid holding back a boarhound as large as Hari.

"Good mornin' 'Ari, 'Ermione, come in, come in, back Fang."

There was only one room in the house but it was massive along with everything inside it.

along one wall was a positively enormous bed covered in a patchwork quilt, in the center of the room there was a large table surrounded by equally large chairs.

"Make yerselves at home," said Hagrid, letting go of Fang, who nearly tackled Hari in his effort to lick her face.

"Hi Hagrid, how are you?" Hermione asked the large man who was gathering things for tea and putting out homemade rock cakes.

Hari, who had just succeeded in pushing Fang off her, rushed forward to help.

The tea was good but the rock cakes were dense lumps of cooked dough that had hard raisins mixed in that would break their teeth if they weren't careful, Hari and Hermione pretended to like them so as to not hurt Hagrid's feelings.

They told Hagrid all about their first week of lessons and he was sympathetic about Snape's bias.

"Don't you mind Snape, he don' like many students"

Hagrid changed the subject by asking about Hermione's parents.

While Hermione was explaining the finer points of dentistry to the confused half-giant, Hari picked up a loose sheet of paper. It was a cutting of the wizarding newspaper the Daily Prophet:

**GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST **

**Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of dark wizards or witches unknown. Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day. **

**"But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this afternoon. **

Apparently, someone had tried to rob Gringotts Bank the same day Hagrid had taken Hari there, the same day Hagrid emptied a vault, Hari remembered what Hagrid said when she had asked about it:

_"Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that." _

Hari was sure there was a connection but she was missing key information...

"Hagrid," Hari piped up, "This article says that someone broke into Gringotts the day we were there."

Hagrid didn't meet her eyes and 'deftly' changed the subject by asking about there favorite classes.

Shortly afterwards the meeting broke up and Hari and Hermione left Hagrid's house with

pockets full of rock cakes that they intended to dispose of as soon as possible.

When they were safely ensconced in their dorm room Hari told Hermione her theory that Hagrid had emptied the vault that had been broken into. Hermione was just as curious as Hari but agreed that they didn't have enough information to go by yet.

-Scene Change-

September 12, 1991

Hari was surprised that she could hate a boy as much as she hated her fat lump of a cousin.

All week leading up to the Saturday flying lessons Draco Malfoy had taunted the first year Gryffindors and told long, loud, boastful stories about how he had spent his childhood upon the best broomsticks, winging his way around his family's glorious estate.

He would spend his free time following Hari and Hermione, whinging on and on about how it was a dreadful crime that he wouldn't be allowed a broom until his second year.

These taunts, and tall-tales didn't bother Hari much, but they made Hermione more nervous by the day, and that made Hari's job of keeping her calm all the more hard.

And here they are, Gryffindors standing face to face with the Slytherin first years waiting on the Flying Instructor, Madam Xiomara Hooch.

Hari sighed, finally allowing herself to give into the nerves she had been feeling since the white-haired tosspot had interrupted her meal a nearly two weeks ago. Next to her, both Neville Longbottom and Hermione were nearly catatonic in their worry.

They heard the barking call of the flying instructor from behind them.

"Well, stand to the side of your broom and say, 'UP'!"

Madam Hooch was a middle-aged woman with short white hair and yellow eyes like a hawk, she was dressed in padding and had a whistle around her neck.

Hari's broom jumped up into her hand, eager to please it's new rider like an excitable puppy. It was one of the few that did. Both Hermione and Neville had a quaver in their voice that said all to clearly that they want to keep both feet on the ground.

After everyone had mounted their broom Madam Hooch walked amongst them correcting their grips, Hari snickered into her hand when she had told Malfoy that he had been doing it wrong all along.

Madam Hooch looked at them with her yellow hawk-eyes.

"Now, I want you all to kick off from the ground, hover for a moment, angle the nose of your broom downwards , and touch back down."

She blew her whistle.

Neville, in an attempt at showing initiative (or really bad nerves), shot up into the air, ten meters, twenty meters, twenty-five meters, then it seemed he lost further control of his broom as he suddenly let go and began plummeting to the floor.

Hari, who had been floating ten feet off the ground watching Hermione hover nearly a foot off the ground and not moving at all, was, it seemed, the only one who had noticed Neville's rather rapid reentry. Cursing, Hari sped off while pulling her wand from her pocket, she swished and flicked it in Neville's direction and cried:

"Wingardium Leviosa!"

Steering with her knees she accelerated to the brooms top speed and flipped over and then under the round faced boy, just managing to catch the now slowly descending Neville four feet from the ground, kicking up a dusty twister of wind.

He slowly opened his tightly shut eyes.

"Are you alright, Neville?" Hari asked with a warm, comforting smile, her emerald eyes twinkling with compassion behind her glasses.

Neville felt himself blush.

Neville's POV

He was falling.

All Neville had wanted was to get this lesson over with so he could get safely back on the ground but his broom had accelerated without his command. Neville closed his eyes felt his tenuous grip on the handle loosen and finally give way.

He was falling.

And then he wasn't.

Neville felt something warm, and soft wrap itself around his shoulders and under his legs behind his knees. He was able to think only one thing cocooned in this gentle yet firm embrace:

Safe.

He slowly, cautiously, opened his brown eyes only to find himself staring into the brightest green eyes he had ever seen.

"Are you alright, Neville?"

Neville cursed his traitorous cheeks for burning red.

Hari's POV.

Hari had let a shaky Neville off her broom when she noticed a glass orb laying on the ground. She picked it up and held it out to Neville.

"Hey, Neville, is this yours?" Neville's blush intensified and nodded.

She smiled and placed it in his hand, his face was now nearly completely red and he seemed to have lost control of his motor functions.

Hari turned away from the overheated round-faced boy when a bushy-haired dynamo slammed into her side tackling her to the ground and straddling her stomach.

"Harriet Roslyn Potter," Hermione shouted, "don't-you-ever-let-me-see-you-doing- something-so-reckless-ever-again!"

She said this so fast that it almost sounded like one long word that got shriller and shriller the longer it went on.

The other students and the instructor had gathered around to watch the normally reserved bookworm totally lose her cool.

"You should have let the teacher handle the situation -damn your Hero Trigger!"

Hermione had started to hit Hari on the chest with every other word she spoke.

Hari had a legitimate fear that Hermione would have a panic attack if she didn't calm down soon.

Hermione rounded on Neville fully intending to unload her rage on him when she was stopped cold by the curt voice of their flight instructor.

"That will do Ms. Granger, though for the record I agree with everything you said."

Hermione seemed to come to herself at that, realizing her position on her friend and surrounded by her housemates and the Slytherins of all people she blushed cherry-red and scrambled off an intensely amused Hari.

Hari's amusement ended when the beady yellow eye of Xiomara Hooch found her.

"Ms. Potter was that your first time on a broom?"

She nodded.

Hooch suddenly smiled.

"Well, normally this class only ends when I say each person knows how to use their broom with proficiency. I think that you've displayed enough natural skills to pass right now."

Hari smiled.

"I'll send word to your head of house about you finishing early." She addressed the students. "Alright you lot, get back up in the air!"

The students mounted their brooms cautiously and floated up about five feet.

Madam Hooch looked at Hari.

"Hari, you really stopped Longbottom from getting seriously hurt. As you can see, I can't be with everyone at all times and I would like to offer a position as my assistant."

Hari cocked her eyebrow.

"It's not an official post seeing as flying lessons only run for a month tops, but you would get extra credit and house points for helping me for the weekly classes."

Hari nodded and Madam Hooch grinned at her, her yellow eyes lighting up in glee.

"Hari, do you know what Quidditch is?" She shook her head no. "After this lesson I want to take you to follow me to my office; your father was an amazing Quidditch player when he was a student."

Hari nodded her head, happy that this person would tell her about her father.

With that the two zoomed up to the struggling students.

Tonks' POV

Dora, who was standing in the Quidditch bleachers watching Hari's first flying practice under a heavy Disillusionment Charm, had whipped her wand out at the same time as Hari only to hesitate when Hari hit the falling boy with a charm that slowed him down enough for her to catch him.

Tonks was impressed; she hadn't seen a Gryffindor fly like that since Charlie Weasley graduated three years ago.

Dora had to silence her laughter as Hermione tackled Hari and berated her loud enough that Tonks could catch what she was saying from a hundred feet away.

Tonks turned and Jumped off the stands, she pointed her wand at herself and cast a silent _"Arresto Momentum"_ slowing herself down before hitting the ground fifty feet below.

Shaking her head, Tonks headed back up to the castle; she had skipped a detention with Snape so she could be here in case Hari needed help.

-Scene Change-

Hari knocked on the door to Madam Hooch's office; Hermione was studying in the library and Hari was to join her after she helped with the afternoon Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw class.

"Enter."

Pulling open the door to the office Hari entered. Madam Hooch was sitting at her desk reading over a few pages of parchment.

"Ah Hari, take a seat, I've invited your head of house to this little chat."

"W-why?" Asked a suddenly nervous Hari.

Madam Hooch, sensing Hari's discomfort, smiled reassuringly at the first year.

"Not to worry, you're not in trouble or anything, I just wanted her to know of your flying skills."

There was another knock on the door.

"Enter, Minerva."

She entered and saw her friend and one of her first years looking nervous and her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Hello Xiomara, Ms. Potter."

Madame Hooch laughed at McGonagall.

"Oh calm down Minerva, Hari hasn't done anything wrong, I just wanted to tell you of the best first year flyer I've ever seen."

Professor McGonagall's expression changed from one of stern disapproval to schoolgirl-like glee in two seconds flat.

She looked to Hari.

"Tell me Ms. Potter; what do you know of Quidditch?"

-Scene Change-

Hari entered the Library after the afternoon flying lesson and found Hermione buried behind a large stack of beginner Rune books. Sitting down, Hari waited for Hermione to look up. And she waited. Sighing, Hari turned to her oblivious friend and softly nudged her in the shoulder.

"Ahhh!" cried Hermione, clutching at her heart.

She scowled when she heard Hari laughing at her.

"Don't do that!"

Hari had gotten control of her laughing but she still had a wide grin on her face.

"Sorry," said Hari, not sounding very sorry at all, "I sat here for five minutes waiting for you to stop reading and notice me but I got impatient."

Hermione exhaled as her blood pressure returned to normal.

"So what did Madam Hooch want?"

Hari waved her wand around and muttered _"Silencio!"_ and a new spell that she had picked up recently: _"Incomprehensibilis!"_

"What was that second spell? I don't recognize it."

"That was a Notice-Me-Not Charm. It does exactly what it sounds like it does, It's applied the same way a silencing charm is but it normally wouldn't be taught until third year. I found it in a book about privacy spells."

Hermione nodded.

"So what did Hooch want?" Repeated Hermione.

"She and McGonagall wanted to put me on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team as a Seeker."

Hemione's eyes widened.

"Wow, without trying out?" Hari nodded, "that's really cool. What did you tell them?"

Hari shrugged.

"I told them I would rather try out. If I didn't it would look like I only got the position because I'm the Girl-Who-Bloody-Lived, besides, there's probably someone better than me."

Hermione silently agreed with her but vocally admonished Hari for her language.

"So at the end of the month I'm going to try-out. That will also give me time to research the game and for the the broom they helped me order to get here."

Hari went to the games and sports section and pulled out a few books on Quidditch before sitting down to read while Hermione studied runes.

-Scene Change-

September 19, 1991

Hari stood at the foot of the stairs leading to the girl's dormitories waiting for Hermione to descend and for them to start their day. Yesterday she had received in the mail Hermione's birthday gift and wanted to give it to her first thing in the morning but had decided to wait for her bushy-haired friend to wake up before handing over her gift.

Hari looked up when she heard a tired shuffling on the stairs.

Hermione's POV

Hermione took her time in her shower. Normally she was very quick in the morning but today, on her birthday, she decided to stay under the warm spray a few minutes longer.

She was not expecting any gifts save for the ones her mum and dad sent her and forwarded from her family. she had never had any gifts from friends because she had never had any friends in the first place. She had always been a bit jealous of other people who always seemed to show off their presents from all their friends.

Shighing, she turned off the shower and and wrapped herself in a fluffy towel. Drying, she

then dressed, grabbed her bag, and slouched down the stairs.

On the bottom step she looked up at and was barely able to catch herself before she was tackled by a short, black-haired, blur.

Hari's POV

Hari waited until Hermione was on the bottom step before her excitement took over and she rushed Hermione.

"Happy Birthday!"

Hermione, for her part, was stunned into silence.

"Ho- how did you know?"

Hari grinned.

"You told me on the train, remember? I sent a letter to your parents last week; all three of us were worried that without access to an owl that they would be unable to send you your gifts. So I let them use Hedwig three nights ago so they could start sending your presents to me, I've been hiding them for you in my trunk along with my gift."

Hermione couldn't believe Hari's thoughtfulness.

"Y-you did that for me," asked Hermione with tears gathering in the corners of her eyes, "why?"

Hari rolled her green eyes.

"In order then? Firstly, of course I did it for you, and secondly, because your my friend."

Hermione was hugging Hari just as hard as Hari was hugging Hermione when a voice sounded out from up the stairs.

"Are you two going to snog now?"

Both Hari and Hermione blushed to the roots of their hair and looked up into the grinning faces of Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil.

"Shu-shut-up," stuttered Hermione.

"Like we said earlier; we're just friends," continued Hari.

"Really?" Questioned Parvati. "Your faces were pretty close for 'just friends'."

"Oh yeah," Lavender pounded her fist into the palm of her other hand in mock discovery, "I swear they were leaning in close for a kiss." She turned to Parvati in fake remorse, "maybe we shouldn't have interrupted."

Parvati nodded.

"You're totally right. I mean look at them; even through all this teasing they continue to," she leaned in close and put on a 'sultry' look and spoke in a breathy tone, "embrace each other ever so tightly."

Hari and Hermione jumped apart as though burned. Only for Hari to slip on the bottom stair and injure herself falling on the hard paving stones of the commonroom floor.

"Owww..."

"Hari!" Cried Hermione as she scrambled to kneel at Hari's side. "Are you alright, does it hurt anywhere?"

"Only my dignity... and my bum."

Hermione giggled.

"You might want to kiss it better Hermione," said Lavender, "Don't worry, we'll turn around."

Lavender and Parvati fled, laughing, when they heard Hari growl at them.

Hari and Hermione sighed as their roommates left them.

"C'mon, Hermione, lets go get your presents."

Hermione beamed.

-Scene Change-

September 30, 1991

Hari was standing in a line up waiting on the Quidditch Captain, a burly fifth year with short brown hair named Oliver Wood, to call the potential Seekers to task. Hermione and (surprisingly) Dora were sitting in the stands showing their support for Hari. Hermione was wearing the new, soft, gray sweater and black cloak Hari had gotten her for her birthday and Dora was, in her own words, "rockin' the naughty schoolgirl look all year long." When Hari had asked how she wasn't cold Dora had winked cheekily (making Hari both blush and mentally curse) and said "Warming Charms, my dear firstie."

The Chasers had just finished their run and it seemed as if two of the three girls from the year before would make the team again this year as well as a new talent; a second year by the name of Katie Bell. The Beaters remained the same from last year; two red-headed twins by the name of Fred and George Weasley crushed their competition, it seemed that they were more bludger than human.

Oliver motioned for the people trying out for the Seeker position to approach so he could explain the rules of their audition.

"All right, all right, gather 'round" said Oliver in a slight Irish brogue, "I'm going to release twenty snitches and you potentials will round them up. The Seeker with the most snitches at the end of a thirty minute time limit will be the new team Seeker. Simple enough, yeah?"

"All right everyone get up in the ai-"

"Excuse me, Captain?"

A tall, sandy-haired, boy who looked to be in his sixth or seventh year interrupted Oliver while raising his hand.

"Yes," said the annoyed Irishmen.

He pointed at Hari using his broom.

"Why is this first year allowed here?" He said condescendingly. "I mean, she looks barely out of her flying lessons, surely she isn't ready to fly with the big boys yet."

Hari felt a stab of annoyance but knew that due to her age and stature she'd have to prove herself even moreso than any other Seeker candidate.

The Captain looked a bit impatient.

"What's your name?"

"Jeremiah Smith."

_"Oh, this is the older brother of that Hufflepuff in my year. Great, Zacharias Smith is a prick, I bet this guy is just as bad." _

"Well Jeremiah," said Oliver, "Hari came heavily recommended by both Professor McGonagall and Madam Hooch. They wanted to place her directly on the team but Hari insisted on trying out just like everyone else. Now, I haven't seen her fly yet but according to Hooch: _'Ms. Potter is the most competent first year flyer I've ever seen'." _

He looked at the assembled Potentials.

"Now, If you're done trying to eliminate the competition before tryouts..."

Jeremiah flushed an ugly puce that reminded Hari of Uncle Vernon when the crowds of watchers laughed.

"Alright, you lot, get up in the air!"

The hopefuls mounted their different brooms. Hari's new Nimbus Two-Thousand was easily the best the Potentials had.

Oliver's voice called out and echoed in the distance.

"I'm going to release the Snitches now!"

Hari saw a mass of gold whip into the air and separate, going in different directions. Hari smirked, zeroed in on a snitch and zipped after it.

-Time Skip-

Hari dismounted her Nimbus and grinned at Hermione and Dora. She had caught the most snitches. It was close, for most of the tryout she was tied with Jeremiah Smith at eight snitches each but in the end she had feinted and plowed Smith into the ground while catching her ninth and winning snitch.

She looked over at Smith; he was picking himself up of the pitch and was puce in the face. He looked at her and gave her a glare as bad as any Uncle Vernon or Snape had ever given her. Normally that would've worried her but she was far too happy to care to the moment.

The shrill whistle of Oliver Wood cut through Hari's thoughts.

"That was wicked Hari! You keep flying like that and Gryfindor'll have the cup this year!"

Hari grinned at him.

"Does that mean I'm on the team?"

He returned her grin while they were surrounded by the other teammates.

"You bet, Hari. Welcome to the team, Seeker!"

Hari laughed in happiness until she was plowed over by a bushy-haired missile.

"Hari that was absolutely amazing!"

"Geez, Hermione, don't suffocate the new Seeker."

Hari spat out a mouthful of Hermione's hair and looked up into the grinning face of Nymphadora Tonks.

"You flew wonderfully, my Little Sparrow."

Hari successfully (barely) fought her blush and raised her left eyebrow.

"Little Sparrow?"

"That's your new nickname. You flew like a pro and you're small so I named you after a tiny bird, Hermione helped me come up with it."

After a few seconds of trying to control her reemerging blush she managed to clear her throat and hit Dora and Hermione with a beady eye.

"Only you two can call me that."

She then glared at the highly amused spectators as if daring them to contradict her.

"Alright you lot, I'll be posting practice times on the bulletin board in the common room. So keep checking. You're all dismissed."

Hermione tugged Hari's arm.

"C'mon Hari, we need to finish our Potions Essay."

Hari nodded and said goodbye to her new team mates and Tonks who seemed distracted and staring off in to space and absently said her goodbyes.

Shrugging, she collected her broom and followed her friend into the castle.

Dora's POV

Tonks looked over the shoulders of the group of Gryffindors to see Jeremiah Smith glaring at an oblivious Hari. She could practically feel his ill intent. Scowling, she subtly put a series of tracking and monitoring charms on both Smith and Hari, if he tried anything she'd know and put a stop to it.

Hari said goodbye and Dora turned and looked down at her favorite firstie.

"See ya' Little Sparrow, I gotta head inside as well," said Tonks absently.

Hari shrugged and left with Hermione while Dora kept a beady eye on Jeremiah Smith.

-Scene Change-

Hari POV

October 3, 1991

Hari was leaving Potions Class alone. Hermione had been sick with the flu and was staying in the Hospital Wing. Hari was on her way to the infirmary to visit her unwell friend when the small hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. The shadows of the recesses in the wall grew larger and Hari could hear a quiet snickering as well as the sound of a single pair of feet clopping down the abandoned corridor.

On instinct she ducked as a red coloured spell flew over her head and crashed into the wall on the opposite side of the hall leaving a black scorch mark in it's wake.

Drawing her wand from an inner pocket of her cloak she turned on her heel and spoke into the quietness.

"Who's there!"

She tried to make her voice as commanding as possible in an effort to cover her growing unease.

"Show yourself!"

Hari heard a quiet chuckling and jumped to the right as a second sinister spell zipped toward her. Hari could feel it's backdraft as it narrowly missed her cheek.

A soft voice spoke out of the ever growing darkness.

"What wonderful reflexes you have Harriet Potter."

Hari knew that voice.

"Jeremiah Smith, where are you? Why are you doing this?"

The voice cackled and Jeremiah stepped out of the encroaching blackness. His hair was disheveled and his clothes were a mess, he was looking at the floor and his shoulders were jerking. He had his still smoking wand aimed toward Hari.

"Hehehe..." His head snapped up and he sneered at Hari."Why are you doing this?" He mocked her in a baby voice. "You mean to tell me that you don't know? And here was me, thinking that you were supposed to be smart, third or fourth in your year I'm told and first in your Defense and Charms scores... C'mon put that brain to work. You should be able to figure it out easily enough."

Hari thought for a moment.

"You're jealous. You're jealous that I won the spot on the Quidditch team and you're angry with me. You're holding a grudge because your a seventh year and that was your last chance to grab a spot on the roster."

He twitched and clapped his hands slowly.

"DING! DING! DING! We have a winner!"

Hari couldn't beleive that something so minor could make a person snap so completely.

She growled her annoyance and gripped her wand tighter.

"So, what did I win?"

The temperature rapidly dropped, the walls frosted over and Hari could see her breath.

He smiled impossibly wide showing all his teeth before breaking into a cackle once more. Hari would swear that his eyes flashed red for a moment.

The darkness of the corridor seemed to move all at once, it slithered across the floor to Jeremiah's feet where it merged with his shadow before traveling up his legs and around his wand where it burned bright purple.

His voice took on a sibilant quality.

**"Hahaha!** You win a very painful death, Harriet Roslyn Potter!"

_"Gravitate Atque!" _

The darkness from his wand coalesced into a dark purple orb that shot toward her quicker than Hari could dodge. The spell must've effected gravity in some way because in it's wake the spell seemed to distort the stonework of the castle, making it bend and fold in on itself.

The air seemed heavy and was holding her in place.

Hari clenched her eyes shut in fear.

Only to open them when a loud gonging noise nearly shattered her eardrums.

Nymphadora Tonks was standing in front of her and had deflected the offensive magic off of a thick red shield. Her hair was not it's usual flamboyant bubblegum pink, instead, it was long, whipping around in the wind, and black as midnight just like her eyes (the entire eye, not just the iris.) There was fury in every line of her face and for the first time since she was four years old Hari was truly scared of someone far stronger than her.

The corridor was filled with the overwhelming presence of Tonks and the pressure in the air doubled.

Dora's POV

Nymphadora was sitting at the astronomy tower finishing her Transfiguration essay when the mental alerts she had set up a few days ago that would tell her if/when Jeremiah would confront Hari dinged. Using her wand, she silently banished her school supplies back to her dorm room.

Tonks sprinted down the tower (knocking a snogging couple apart much to their annoyance.)

Reviewing the data her charm's sent her she quickly knew that the two were in one of the lesser used corridors in the dungeon. Coming up on the moving staircases Tonks didn't think twice over jumping over the railing (scaring nearly fifty students) and plummeting one hundred feet before stopping her descent two feet off the ground with a silent_ 'Aresto Momentum.' _

Turning on her heel she started down the correct corridor while she continued to mentally receive data from her targets; Hari was scared and her adrenaline was pumping aplenty, but it was Jeremiah who was slightly more interesting; he was muted, as though he wasn't really in control of his own actions. There were several spells to make a person do something against their will but any of them would've triggered the school wards and alerted the Headmaster. She supposed that whomever is controlling Smith could've fed him a potion to make him more receptive to commands and suggestion and then used a more benign controlling spell like a simple Confundus Charm or maybe implanting commands through a strong legilimency probe...

Tonks growled; if Smith wasn't really in control of himself then the situation was even more dire than Tonks thought. Pushing that thought aside Dora used some of the only advanced wandless magic she knew; she 'pushed' some of her internal magic into the balls of her feet and then released it all at once, pushing her forward by twenty-five feet -making it appear as though she had phased out and popped back into existence in an instant.

She just hoped that Hari would be alright until she could get there.

Tonks used another Instant Movement and jumped ahead another twenty feet. She rounded a corner and nearly collided with a wall of shadowy blackness. The wall was so black that it seemed to suck up the light surrounding it, putting the hallway in some kind of odd gray twilight. Her charms were telling her that both Hari and Smith were behind this wall and that if she tried to cross it something bad would happen to her.

Growling in annoyance, Dora stepped back five feet, whipped her wand up and made a spiraling motion. Feeling that what magic remained after a full day of stressful classes wouldn't be enough for what she need to do, she prepared to do something that, until then, she had only read about; she slipped her foot out of one of her boots and touched it to the cold castle ground, opening her magical pathways she leeched some excess energy from the ambient magic that the castle absorbs and releases every day.

Dora's eyes closed as the magic entered her body. Her pink hair seemed to wilt and turn a darker shade of brown before finally turning it's natural black as she focused on what she needed her magic to do.

The magic swirled around her until she snapped her completely black eyes open and thrust her wand forward.

_**"Silnik Oblężenia!" **_

A large 'Drill' of magic spiraled from her wand and collided with the dark ward, there was a flash of light and a loud crashing noise. Her Siege Engine spell worked, it successfully ripped a hole in the wall. Running through the hole and brandishing her wand she grinned; such a big spell would definitely get the Headmaster's attention.

Using Instant Movement twice she came upon Hari's back as a large ball of black magic was lancing through the air directly at Hari. Cursing, she used Instant Movement to throw herself in front of Hari while beginning the incantation to the strongest shield she knew:

_**"Aegis Fortis!" **_

A massive, red, hexagon filled the hall and deflected the orb of black magic with a deep gonging noise.

As the dust from the spell cleared Tonks took a look at Jeremiah, what she saw only confirmed what her charm told her; he was barely there and his jerking limbs said that he wasn't in control of himself.

"Snap out of it Jeremiah! Do you want to give whomever is controlling your body the satisfaction of winning?"

"Jeremiah isn't here, there is only **me**!"

His eyes flashed red and the pupil slitted like a cat's. he seemed to gather his and Jeremiah's power unto himself before releasing it like a bomb destroying Dora's battered shield and making Hari scream out in fear.

Tonks used wandless magic and pushed Hari into a recess in the wall before using her wand and throwing up a powerful dome of protective magic. She widened her stance and pointed her wand at Jeremiah(?)

"I don't know who you are, but let's dance!"

Dumbledore's POV

Albus Dumbledore was eating in the Great Hall and discussing advanced Transfiguration theory with his deputy; Professor McGonagall, when the wards alerted him of a high (much higher than anything Hogwarts teaches) level ward breaking spell being used in the dungeons. This confused him because the Philosopher's Stone is currently in his office while the teachers finished setting up their protections. Turning to Severus and then Minerva he gestured for them to follow him.

Professors Snape and McGonagall were running to keep up with the Headmaster's long, quick, strides.

Finally Snape broke the silence.

"Albus, will please slow down and tell us why you stopped our dinner and why we're running to the dungeons?"

Albus didn't slow down but he did speak:

"Just now the Hogwarts wards informed me that someone is using incredibly high level magic in the dungeons. It started off with a Siege Engine ward breaker followed by a Gravity Well Curse and then by an Aegis Fortis Shield. Some one is having one hell of a fight down there. The only question is who."

Snape and McGonagall looked at each other and pulled their wands; readying themselves for a fight they hadn't had since the war.

Dora's POV

There was silence and then Jeremiah(?) raised his wand. _"Relevandae Cadunt!"_ A large bolt of blue lightning lept from the tip of Smith's(?) wand and zoomed at Tonks.

Dora moved and raised a shield that would (hopefully) block any electrical streamers that broke from the main bolt. Snarling, she brandished her wand at the ground Jeremiah(?) was standing on, _**"**__**اليد من الأوساخ**__**!"**_ (Hands of Dirt.) The ground that Smith(?) was standing on warped, and changed; four hands and arms grew from the stonework and grabbed

Jeremiah(?) by the arms and legs then pulled him flat onto the floor.

"It's over Jerem- whoever you are. Give up, you won't win."

She cautiously approached him while pointing her wand at him.

"NOT YET!" Roared Smith(?) "I WON'T BE BEATEN BY THE LIKES OF YOU! I'M TOO CLOSE TO MY ULTIMATE VICTORY!" Jeremiah's(?) magic seemed to pool in his arms and legs as he flexed his muscles and broke the stone and mortar binds. He jumped up and screamed as he unleashed a steady stream of incredibly hot fire at Tonk's location.

Tonks used Instant Movement to move to the side as the fire burned it's way towards her.

Whipping her wand at the blaze she extinguished it with a large gout of water that she then formed into a ball, froze, then banished toward him using a silent _"Depulso."_

Jeremiah(?) shattered the boulder of ice and transfigured the shards into knives that he animated to attack his opponet.

Tonks flicked her wand at the ground three times and shouted: _"Praesidia!"_ A thick wall of stone erupted from the ground and most of the knives imbedded themselves in the rock. One slipped past it and buried itself in her gut. Tonks screamed in pain and pulled the blade out then she vanished every dagger and the wall with a silent _"Evanesco!" _

Tonk's coughed up blood and sank to her knees; Jeremiah(?) must've slipped a potent curse on the blades.

Jeremiah(?), sensing Dumbledore coming and knowing that his plan had failed, jabbed his wand at Tonks and and screamed the most deadly spell in the wizarding world: _"Avada Kedavra!" _Tonks' eyes widened as the bullet of green death shot towards her face.

Dumbledore POV

Albus Dumbledore put on another burst of speed.

"Come, we must hurry, the fight seems to be picking up rather quickly!"

They rounded the corner and Dumbledore destroyed the wall of darkness that had been trying to repair itself with an dramatic swish of his wand.

Minerva, being the first one around the corner and seeing the tell tale green of the Killing Curse, snapped her wand up and shouted _"Marmo Evocato!"_ A thick block of white marble intercepted the Curse.

Dumbledore channeled his magic into his throat and shouted:

"STOP!"

The wizened Headmaster scanned the battlefield quickly; Ms. Tonks was breathing heavily and seemed to be heavily injured. Ms Potter looked terrified but was beating on an almost solid wall of magic -trying to get to Ms. Tonks. Mr. Smith(?) was sneering at him.

Smith's(?) eyes flashed red and Dumbledore's blue orbs widened behind his spectacles.

Dumbledore was now both very worried and very angry. He was radiating a sense of presence and power that it made the air hot.

"It was foolish of you to try this, Tom."

Jeremiah/Tom sneered at Dumbledore and said: "You can only delay me for so long Dumbledore, I'll come back, and when I do both you and Harriet Potter are on the top of my list..."

Jeremiah's/Tom's eyes closed and he fell backwards, apparently passed out.

Mcgonagall rushed over to Tonks as Snape strode to Smith.

Dumbledore canceled the shield holding Hari in place.

As soon as the dome was undone Hari ran to Mcgonagall's side to help her support a faint Dora.

"Albus, I've stopped the bleeding but she needs to see Poppy, There was a potent curse on the blade that did this."

"Albus, Mr. Smith's mind is nearly mush, he's been fighting the control for at least a few days, even during the duel as well. But long term legilimency is dangerous for the invaded mind. He needs a Mind Healer from St. Mungo's."

Albus sighed and nodded, Two of his students had been gravely injured while one is most likely traumatized and he had gotten there too late to stop it.

He flicked his wand and sent a messenger spell to the School Healer telling her to prep for three new arrivals.

Tom's POV

Lord Voldemort mentally snarled in rage and Quirrell whimpered a bit in fear.

He had just started possessing his useless servant Quirinus Quirrell and had felt a darkness in one of the students the bald fool had to teach. Voldemort had Quirrell hold _'Mr. S-S-Smith'_ back after class one day and he had looked upon his unprotected mind. What he saw there made him chuckle in sadistic glee; it was a cesspit, he was a middle of the road wizard and dark thoughts, jealousy, and a kind of perverseness that would make dear Bella moan swirled at the deepest recesses of Jeremiah's heart. This, Voldemort could work with. And so he did, Voldemort had Quirrell give him a series of Remedial Defense lessons and every night Voldemort would slip into his subconsciousness and manipulate the boy onto a darker path, allowing Voldemort more control over him. And finally he was able to take full control and corner that little brat-

_-Harriet Potter_, the name of that little girl could get him spitting mad in a way that only Wormtail had been able too before. How is it that such an ordinary witch was the reason that his body was destroyed leaving him little more than a wraith? Sure, she was talented in Defense and according to that Half-Breed, Flitwick, she had a predisposition for Charms, he could acknowledge that, but other than that she was mediocre in every sense of the word! She had no control over her power! It was infuriating!

Lord Voldemort mentally counted to ten in an effort to calm himself; Quirrell was becoming a bumbling wreck, having to contain his essence was obviously draining to the weak minded fool.

He was just about to kill the little snot when who should arrive but the most advanced Defense student in the school and the only one besides the teachers who might pose a threat to himself in his weakened form. She had been very powerful more powerful than he had estimated; she was the youngest daughter of the Blacks, an old, dying, Pureblood house infused with fresh Muggle blood through her Mudblood father, Ted Tonks. Her circumstances loosely reminded him of himself. Perhaps she could be swayed to his side? The Dark Lord doubted it; she had never aimed to kill him, only disable, she was probably a follower of Dumbledore's mantra of peace and repentance...

Voldemort hoped the Withering Curse he had put on those daggers had managed to rot the goody-goody from the inside out like they were supposed to.

Mentally sighing, He retreated into the furthest reaches of his bumbling servants mind; Quirrell would need his rest for his next plan.

-Scene Change-

October 4, 1991

Hari woke early in the morning. Instead of getting up (which she knew would trigger the wards that Madam Pomfrey had put up before settling her and Dora into beds as Smith was shipped off to the magical hospital for emergency mental evaluation) she looked around her; Hermione was on her right, She had been -distraught- when she had seen a bloodied Hari enter the Hospital Wing helping McGonagall support an even more bloody Tonks. It had taken nearly fifteen minutes for Hermione to accept that it was Dora's blood and that she (Hari) was just a little shook up and not grievously injured.

Across from Hari's bed was Dora. She was being kept in stasis while Madam Pomfrey and Snape try and find the cure to the curse that had been on that dagger.

Hari felt guilt eat away at her. Tonks was only injured because of her, Dora was only trying to protect her.

Hari sighed and tried to push those depressing thoughts to the side.

Hari had been able to do nothing while Tonks fought so bravely... Hari promised herself that she wouldn't be weak anymore but that's exactly what she was. Weak. She had frozen when that black spell came at her. There was no way around it, she would need to study harder, more advanced material. Maybe when Tonks wakes up Hari could ask her for help.

Hari knew that there would be questions asked about last night and since she was the only one who was conscious that she'd have to answer them.

_"Damn..." _

Hari could no longer ignore the pressure in her bladder and quickly got out of bed and padded into the bathroom.

-Scene Change-

October 11, 1991

Hari Potter was sitting in the Headmaster's Office. It had been a week since the incident and she and Hermione had been sitting in the infirmary next to a finally awake Dora Tonks when she was summoned by a house-elf. Extracting a promise from Dora and Hermione to 'watch her stuff' she put her cloak on and allowed herself to be popped away by the happy elf.

So here she was, sitting in the most interesting room she had ever been in waiting for the Headmaster to arrive.

She was contemplating resting her eyes for a bit when the voice of Albus Dumbledore greeted her.

"Ah, Ms. Potter, I'm glad to see you happy and recovered from your ordeal."

Dumbledore stepped from the door to the office behind her to the seat behind the desk in front of her. He was clad in robes of the deepest blue and had stars and moons embroidered on them.

"Thank you sir, but I'm fine, it was Dora that I was worried about."

Dumbledore nodded his fez covered head.

"It is always tough on the friends of the victims. Sometimes even moreso than the victims themselves."

Hari didn't know what to say to that so she kept silent.

"I've asked your head of house as well as Professors Sprout and Snape to be here as what we will be talking about involves two Gryffindors as well as a Hufflepuff." Seeing her about to ask somthing (probably something rude like: "why is the Greasy Git coming, then?") he headed her off and added on: "Professor Snape is coming as a consultant; he is an expert in the Mind Arts and should be able to tell us what was controling Mr. Smith."

Hari nodded her understanding.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door.

"Enter."

Three of the four Heads of House entered the office and Hari couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by the collection of powerful witches and wizards all in one room. It didn't help that she had only grown an inch after being on the potions for a month.

"Ah, Where are my manners, Hari, would you like a lemon drop?"

Hari smiled and nodded.

"Lemon drops are amongst my favorite candies, sir."

She ignored the groan from her Head of House and the giggle of Professor Sprout.

Dumbledore smiled widely.

"Excellent," he handed over a large handful of the sour confections, "shall we begin?"

Getting nods all around he walked over to a side cabinet and extracted a large, shallow, stone bowl.

"Hari, this is a penseive; it allows us to view a copy of a memory. What I'd like to do is to place my wand at your temple and have you think of the entire event in full while I extract the memory."

Hari breathed deeply, not liking the fact that someone wanted to hold a wand to her head (not that she didn't trust the Headmaster's skills...)

"Alright."

-Time Skip-

Hari was sitting in her chair sucking on her last lemon drop. It had been nearly twenty minutes since the Professors had entered the Pensieve. A blur of motion drew her attention to the runic bowl. The Professors had exited the Penseive looking grim (though, there was no small amount of pride in Professor Sprout's eyes as she thought of how brave her seventh year had been.)

"Thank you for your information Hari," said Dumbledore, "both you and young Nymphadora were incredibly brave."

Hari looked at her knees; she didn't feel particularly brave.

"Dora was brave, I was scared out of my mind and spent the majority of Tonks' fight panicking behind the shield she put over me."

Hari didn't see (as she was still looking at the floor) the teachers looking at each other in worry (besides Snape; he just sneered at nothing in particular.)

McGonagall could stay silent no longer.

"Ms. Potter, you have to understand that you are eleven and even our seventh years aren't expected to be any where near as good in a duel as Ms. Tonks is. The fact that you didn't pass out in fear like most first years would've and even dodged the first two spells is a testament to your bravery and developing skills as a witch."

Professor McGonagall looked incredibly uncomfortable; she had never been the 'softest' woman in the world, just ask her three ex-husbands.

Hari nodded but still didn't look totally convinced.

"Hari, if you would like to go we can call you in again with the results of our investigation."

"Yes, sir."

With that Hari stood and left the Office.

-Scene Change-

October 12, 1991

Hari and Hermione were waiting outside the Hufflepuff Common Room. It was Saturday and Hari just finished helping Madam Hooch with the last of the Flying Lessons for the year (earning fifty points for her help.)

Hermione was sitting on the floor reading another book on Ancient Runes.

"Hari, what are we doing here?" Asked Hermione with a bit of a whine (although Hari was smart enough to not point this out it still made her giggle inside.)

"I need to ask Dora something important."

Hermione's eyebrows disappeared under her bangs.

"Oh? Does that mean you're over your crush, Little Sparrow?"

Hari blushed.

"Her-mione," Hari whined, "be careful what you say, we don't have privacy spells up. I don't want that getting around school. What if Dora finds out? I'd never be able to look her in the face again."

Haemione smiled wryly.

"You're already barely able to talk to her face, when you talk to her it's mostly to her chest."

Hari moaned pitifully (though Hermione was smart enough not to say that to Hari's face)

"Herrrrrmioneeee, shut up. I can't wait until I can make fun of you for your first crush."

Hermione chuckled as the portrait swung open revealing Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot.

"Excuse me, Susan, Hannah."

They turned to Hari.

"Could you please go see if Nymphadora Tonks is in the common room? It's really important. She's a seventh year and she usually has pink hair."

The two 'Puffs nodded and re-opened the portrait hole.

A few minutes later the door swung open a third time revealing Susan, Hannah, and Dora.

Thanking the two firstie 'Puffs Hari approached Dora who was smiling at Hari.

"Wotcher, Hari! What's up? Susan said it was important."

Hermione looked up; Hari had refused to tell her what she wanted to ask Tonks and she was curious.

Hari took a deep breath.

_"Wouldyouteachmehowtofight?" _

Tonks raised an eyebrow.

"What was that?"

Hermione snorted a laugh.

Hari blushed.

"Would-you-teach-me-how-to-fight?"

Tonks seemed to want to torture Hari because she put on an air of someone who was judging something incredibly important.

Tonks 'Hmmm'd'

"I... Suppose I could," Muttered Tonks, "But it really feels somehow strange to me; I was a second year when I asked then fifth year Bill Weasley to teach me to fight..." She trailed off while sneaking a wink at Hermione making her stifle a laugh with her hand.

"I'll do anything!"

"Tonks put on an exagerrated leer.

"Anything?" Asked Tonks in a lewdly suggestive way.

It seemed as if Hari's entire body blushed. Hermione was concerned her friend would pass out from the blood rush.

Hari made an effort to look directly at Tonks' face

"Nearly anything..." She said seriously.

Tonks pouted and Hermione couldn't hold it in anymore.

She laughed. Loudly. Followed by Dora, who brayed a laugh similar to a donkey.

Hari growled in annoyance.

"I'm being serious here, Dora. It's important that I become as strong as possible."

Hari was pleading, attempting to get Tonks to understand the gravity of the situation.

Dora looked at Hari seriously (her hair even wilted a bit)

"Why, why is this so important to you? Why do you need to be stronger? Tell me these things and I'll consider it."

Hari looked Tonks dead in the eye.

"The _thing _that was controlling Smith said that it would come back and that I would be at the top of it's list. There are people, monsters really, who are actively seeking my death. I need to be able to protect myself and my friends. And I'm convinced that you're the strongest person I know. I know that I'll stand a better chance at living to be twenty if you teach me.

Dora was silent for a moment.

Hari continued.

"I hate being weak. I hate being helpless. Please, Dora."

The tension in the air was palpable and Hermione was holding her breath despite her teasing attitude earlier.

Finally, Tonks lifted her left hand and placed it on Hari's head.

"I will teach you, Hari Potter."

Hari's face broke out in a massive grin.

"Be warned young apprentice, that I take my training very seriously. If you slack or slow me down I'll drop you and you can learn with the rest of your class."

Hari nodded grimly but Hermione could still see a bit of a smile on her friends face.

Tonks suddenly grinned.

"Call me 'Master'."

Hari and Hermione (though she hid it behind a book) blushed slightly.

"Yes, Master!"

Dora leaned in close and draped an arm around Hari's shoulders (making sure to rub Hari with her chest), putting her mouth next to the side of Hari's head she whispered while allowing her lips to ghost over the ridge of Hari's ear:

"Now use your 'sexy voice'."

Hari and Hermione turned beet red and Hari passed out from a 'teasing overload'.

Hermione scrambled over to her downed friend while Tonks leaned over her shoulder.

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows and turned to Dora.

"Why is her nose bleeding? She didn't hit it on the way down."

Tonks' answer was another spluttering, braying, laugh.

-Scene Change-

October 13, 1991

Hari was wearing workout clothes (tight tanktop, bike shorts, and trainers) under her black cloak (she was still a little modest about her scrawny body even though she had grown a bit and filled out some). Dora had told her to come to the seventh floor corridor alone, bringing only her wand and to be prepared for a workout. Coming to a stop Hari stood in front of a tapestry of a mad old man teaching trolls how to dance ballet. Hari held up a piece of muggle paper that Tonks had written her instructions on, Dora's note had said that Hari was to wait for her to arrive and take her to the training room.

Hari had waited five minutes and was starting to doze; Oliver Wood had kept the team up to discuss tactics for their first scheduled practice in a few weeks. The sound of a ball whistling through the air echoed through the hall and something hard yet slightly squishy hit Hari in the face, knocking her to the ground.

"Argh! What the Hell!"

Tonks strode up to her.

"What the fuck was that! Where were the reflexes that saved you from Smith!"

Hari stood and rubbed her cheek where a bruise was quickly forming.

"Sorry, Master. Captain Wood kept us up all night talking about his revised Quidditch program. Serious training only starts after Halloween."

"Come!" Barked Dora. Who then turned on her heel and walked to the opposite wall. "_Lesson One: Always be aware of your surroundings._ This can be achieved by using one of many different Charms -the most common being the Supersensory Charm. Combine that with good old fashioned Mundane observations skills and you would've reacted to the ball before it hit your face."

Hari nodded and filed that away as Dora started to pace the wall.

"_Lesson two: Always take advantage of your resources while you have them._ You never know when they might disappear. This does not mean that you should waste those resources -there is a time and a place for everything, you need to learn when to let loose a secret or to use an item."

A door seemingly grew out of the ground and opened.

"Welcome to the Room of Requirement. The Room is a grand place that is always equipped for the seeker's needs. I've been using it since Bill Weasley showed it to me in my second year."

She briskly entered the door followed by an awed Hari.

The Room was equipped like an exercise room or gym; The walls were lined with equipment ranging from pull-up bars to bench presses and other weight training equipment. There was two punching bags; one simulated a whole body and hung close to the floor while the other seemed to be for just punches because it was nearly six feet off the ground. On the opposite room was a cordoned off area that was filled with many kinds of training dummy, They all had different weapons; one had a wand and another had a quarter staff while a third had a broadsword. There were bookshelves filled with moldy old tomes wrapped in old leather and scrolls of yellowed parchment that smelled heavily of dust and a door that led into what must be a washroom if the sign on the door was anything to go by.

"This is the configuration that I have been using for years. If you need something tell me and I'll make it for you."

She opened a hand, closed her eyes, and a second later a pad of paper and a pen appeared. She handed the pad to Hari.

"I want you to write down any offensive or defensive spell and skill that you are capable of doing. You have ten minutes -starting now."

She pointed to a table and chair that appeared by the bookshelves.

Ten minutes later Hari handed Dora the slip of paper.

Looking down Dora read over the list of spells Hari knew.

_Spells I Know: _

_Flipendo (Tria) _

_Verdimillious (Uno, Duo, Tria) _

_Stunning Charm (Incomplete, It only staggers someone instead of knocking them out) _

_Full Body-Bind (Incomplete -can still be broken out of in a few seconds) _

_Disarming Charm _

_Tickling Charm (Unconventional, but still useful as a distraction) _

_Trip Jinx _

_Smokescreen Charm _

_Bombarda (strongest spell I know -can only do a few of these without rest) _

_Protego (Hazy -breaks easily) _

Tonks rubbed her chin while a nervous and fidgeting Hari looked on.

"Not bad," mumbled Tonks, "considering you've only had a month and a half of school and all these spells must be self taught considering the stuttering fool of a Defense Professor we have..."

She looked up at Hari.

"Adequate," Dora drew her wand, "Let us see how well you can use them against a real human.

"Yes, Master..."

Hari shakily drew her wand and Tonks grinned viciously as her eyes turned completely black.

_"First rule of combat: Always keep on the move, If your opponent pins you down you're dead!" _

She jabbed her wand at her young apprentice.

_"Expulso!" _

-Scene Change-

As Hari dragged herself up to her dorm room her injuries were aggravated as Tonks refused to heal them and instead taught Hari something called a Glamour Charm. Hari recalled Tonks' words:

_"Pain is a good teacher, Hari. If something hurts you'll work harder to improve and avoid it happening again." _

"Hari!" Hermione ran up to her friend and caught her as she started to fall over. "What happened, are you hurt?"

Hari smiled tiredly and raised a Notice-Me-Not Charm then she dispelled the Glamour Charm hiding her injuries.

Hermione's hands flew to her mouth in a horrified gasp.

"Hari, you need to go to the hospital wing, You're really hurt."

Hari attempted to shrug and smile but instead it came out as a twitch and a grimace.

"I'm fine," at her disbelieving look she added, "it's mostly just bruises and a few shallow cuts. Master said that she would heal them tomorrow. These are just to teach me a lesson-"

"A lesson!" Said a horrified Hari. "It looks like she used you as a punching bag! I don't believe that she could do someth-"

Hari cut Hermione off before she could really start to rant.

"That's not true!" In a softer voice she continued. "While she handed me my ass in a duel she had been lecturing me on magical theory. Stuff that Flitwick had never even alluded to! Do you know how she got to be so strong? She's been breaking into the Restricted Section after disabling the enchantments since she was a third year. Master knows so much about how our magic works it's staggering; there had been a time in our fight when I had thought I trapped her and she used wandless magic to move nearly twenty feet away while at the same time banishing me into my own trap! Just watch me Hermione, I'm going to get stronger and Master is my golden ticket to that strength."

Hermione closed her eyes and Hari knew that she had won.

"There's no stopping you is there?" Asked Hermione in a soft voice already knowing the

answer.

"No, there isn't."

Hermione sighed.

"Alright, I won't drag you off to Madam Pomfrey."

Hermione opened her eyes and Hari could nearly see the fire of scholarly interest burning in her brown orbs.

"So, what is she going to teach you? What was that magical theory you mentioned? How did she jump twenty feet? How often are you going to meet?"

Hermione was nearly vibrating in happiness and Hari laughed.

"She said that she wouldn't teach me any new magic until after the holidays and the lead up will be more lecturing and dueling but that I should continue to teach myself new spells. Self reliance is important, in the words of my Master:

_''How do you expect to become truly strong when you follow my path, you'll always be second best unless you blaze your own trail!" _

She guided Hermione to her (Hari's) bed and sat her down by the headboard she then sat next to her and reapplied her Glamour Charm.

"Magic is all around us," she stated as she began summing up her Master's lecture, "It infuses every living being and prolongs and enriches life. The world itself has magic; it wraps itself around the planet in things called Magical Leylines. We build magical structures on these Leylines so the energy of the world itself powers the wards around them. A skilled witch or wizard can tap into these as well when they are low on power, master did this during her duel with Jeremiah(?) because she was tired after her classes (though it was the first time she had to do so.) What makes a magical being a magical being is a magical core and with enough training a core can grow with you before maxing out somewhere around thirty years of age. All magical peoples can perform magic without a wand or incantation at some point in there life when their emotions get away from them but it takes a truly skilled witch or wizard to use silent magic or wandless magic with any control. Master knows quite a few wandless abilities; her metamorphs are a wandless magic that lends strength to her innate transfiguration skills, as well as that 'jumping' thing she did. She *yawn* she... wants me to come to her every two days for more training. *yawn* I'll get myself healed before classes tomorrow..."

She blearily looked to Hermione to see her sleeping. Nodding her head, she laid both Hermione and herself down, before covering them with her blanket and drifting off to the realm of Morpheus.

-Scene Change-

October 14, 1991

*Giggle*

"I wish I had a camera."

"Hush, you're going to wake them."

Hari's eyes slowly opened on a Monday morning.

"Wuzz goin' on?"

"Hiya, Hari!"

Hari's eyes closed in protest of the loud voices and she buried her head into something warm and soft before the memories of the night before thrust themselves to the forefront of her mind. She heard giggles and Her eyes snapped open while she jumped off Hermione's already developing bosom and fell to the floor with a loud thud that aggravated her injuries.

"Owww... Why does this always happen to me?"

Two distinct tinkling laughs must've woken Hermione because she sat up and stretched her arms and back similar to a cat before turning to Hari who was sitting on the ground with a bright red face.

"Hari, why are you on the floor?

Hari looked at her with wide eyes.

"Hermione, you're in in my bed!"

Hermione raised an eyebrow and nodded.

"Yeah, and?"

Hari gestured to Lavender and Parvati.

"The Notice-Me-Not Charm must've fell while we slept..."

Hermione, it seemed, just noticed her other two roommates because she too turned a red that matched Hari's.

"It's not what it looks like!"

Hermione facepalmed; when you say that it only serves to make you look even more guilty.

she looked back to the smug gossip girls who looked as though both Christmas and the end of year feast had come early.

"We were talking late last night and ended up falling asleep."

She said this in a forcibly calm manner as though trying not to give them any more ammunition.

It didn't work.

"Really? That's all that happened?" Began Lavender.

Parvati took up her call and continued the taunt.

"Then why did Hari have such a firm hold on your baps, Hermione?"

Hermione look at a completely red in the face Hari with an incredulous expression.

"I was sleeping! Can you control what you do while you're asleep?"

Lavender giggled before Hermione could answer.

"Apparently not, seeing as she had her legs wrapped around you and was was squeezing your bum with both hands..."

It was Hermione's turn to blush and splutter out excuses.

The Gryffindor gossip girls laughed loudly before flouncing off to the showers.

There was an awkward silence.

"So..."

"Yeah..."

There was another pause when Hermione, ever the scholar, spoke up.

"What have we learned?"

Hari answered.

"Raise a stronger Privacy Charm the next time we sleep in the same bed?"

They then broke into giggles of their own before heading into the showers.

-Scene Change-

October 29, 1991

"C'mon! Dodge quicker!"

Hari turned to her right to check her blind spot only to snap cast her still hazy shield to block a 'weak' Bludgeoning Curse from Dora.

It didn't work and it only slowed the spell down long enough for Hari to scramble out of the way.

Tonks snarled and shattered Hari's nearly broken Protego shield with a furious wave of her hand.

"Why the fuck do you still insist on bringing that incomplete, barely there shield into this arena? I've told you over and over again that it's useless until you master it. Until you can do that you need to MOVE!"

Tonks sent a Hurling Hex towards Hari who jumped over it and attempted to run to the side only for Tonks to cast a silent Tripping Hex at Hari's legs making her fall on her face. Using Instant Movement Dora was on top of Hari before she could get up and run.

Using one hand Dora held Hari's arms above her head while the other hand was on Hari's neck. Tonks put on her 'game face' making Hari flinch seeing herself reflected in Tonks' eerie black eyes.

"Why do you run?"

Hari was silent.

"I've taught you the theory of Instant Movement. I've seen you accidentally use it during our duels just like I've seen you instinctively use Temperance to strengthen your body with your internal magic."

(See authors note at the end of the chapter for more information.)

Hari swallowed and attempted to struggle free from her Master's grip which she tightened in an effort to hold her young apprentice down.

"Nothing has ever been won by running from your enemy -your problems. So I ask you: What are you afraid of? You have power -oh do you have power; you have a stronger core than most fourth years, you have the talent to put it to use, and yet you continue to run away from me. Why?"

She let up pressure on Hari's throat so she could speak.

"You're too strong! It's like you're a giant and I'm an ant. You could crush me easily."

Tonks used her metamorph powers to smile impossibly wide. Using her legs to swing herself up she used her momentum and a little internal magic to throw Hari by the throat into a wall nearly fifteen feet away.

Hari, knowing that hitting the wall would definitely knock her out, attempted to imbue her back and head with internal magic to lessen the blow. She reached deep into her magical core and tried to guide it, she felt a spark before she smacked into the stonework with a wet thud and blacked out.

..

...

Hari opened her eyes and everything was muted the world was rendered into greyscale.

Shaking her head in an attempt to clear it, she shakily stood and limped over to her Master who was fighting the sword wielding training dummy with a saber that she either transfigured or asked the room to provide.

"How long was I out, Master?"

Dora knocked aside a slash from her opponent using a magically strengthened bare arm and stepped into it's guard before running it through with her blade.

"Only a minute or two. You succeeded, partially at least, I felt you connect with your magic when you tried to temper yourself, you just need to work on your speed; an enemy isn't going to let you meditate before a fight; you need to be able to call that protection up with ease."

Hari nodded.

"Yes, Master."

Tonks was silent while she wiped her face with a terrycloth towel until she finally spoke.

"Hari, did you just see how I dispatched that dummy?"

The young girl nodded.

"That's what I was talking about; you need to abandon the safe path for rarely does it ever bring you truly ahead. Take the least traveled road, endure any hardships, and when you've been beaten into the ground and covered in mud I want you to get up and keep moving. That is what my apprentice should be like."

Tonks put a hand on Hari's head.

"Remember that."

Hari whispered her reply.

"Yes, Master..."

Tonks pulled her hand away and marched her and Hari to the shower room.

"Good, now let's clean ourselves up and heal your wounds because there won't be another training session until after Halloween. I want you to work on your shield and on calling up your magic more quickly in your spare time, meditation will help to improve your concentration."

-Scene Change-

October 31, 1991

"-In an attempt to help you all make new friends I will be pairing you up today for our first lesson of practical magic!" Called Professor Flitwick in his squeaky voice.

Hermione and Hari looked at each other; this would be the first class where they worked with someone else. In the end Hermione was paired with Ron Weasley and Hari was paired with Neville Longbottom.

Professor Flitwick stood on a podium, waved his wand, and feathers appeared on the desks in front of every student.

"Now, the skill we are going to be practicing is levitation or the ability to make objects fly. The wand movement is a simple swish and flick while speaking the incantation 'Wingardium Leviosa', done correctly this spell allows you to float light weight objects or slow the decent of heavier objects." -Hari grinned at Neville who blushed in response- "There are many spells that allow one to levitate something but they won't be covered in class until next year. I want you all to practice the wand motion a few times before you try the spell."

Hari looked to Neville who was stuttering the incantation and butchering the wand movement in his nerves. Shaking her head she put her wand down, moved behind Neville, and grabbed his wand hand.

"W-what are you d-doing?" Asked Neville, who had a face hot enough to fry an egg on.

"You're too tense, no wonder this isn't working, just relax and let me guide your hand."

Neville nodded shakily.

Hari gently steered Neville's hand in the correct swish and flick.

"Now, this next run through I want you to say the incantation while I move your hand."

_"W-Wingardium Leviosa!" _

Nothing happened.

"Again."

_"Wingardium Leviosa!" _

The feather twitched.

"Once more, that was really close, try picturing the feather lifting into the air."

_"Wingardium Leviosa!" _

The feather slowly started floating a few feet off the table.

Hari slowly let go of Neville's hand, making sure he didn't falter, and walked back to her seat. Grabbing her wand, she also performed the spell and sent her feather into the air to 'play' with Neville's feather, they were soon joined by Hermione's feather while her partner sulked.

Hermione's POV

_"Wingardrium Leviosar!" _

Ron Weasley started waving his arm like a windmill.

Hermione sighed and shook her head. Reaching out, she grabbed Ron's arm.

"Stop, Stop!"

He looked at her.

"You're going to poke someone's eye out if you keep up with that. Besides, you're saying it wrong. It's Win-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the 'a' sound longer and stress the 'o'."

Ron scowled.

"You do it then, if you're so clever!"

Hermione sighed in exasperation, swished and flicked her wand, and floated her feather. Looking over to see Hari's progress, she saw Hari holding Neville's hand while whispering into his ear. Hermione frowned a bit but she didn't know why. Shaking her head, she commanded her feather to fly over to Hari's which was also in the air playing with Neville's.

-Time Skip-

Ron was exiting the class with Neville, Dean, and Seamus complaining.

"-She's a nightmare, honestly, I don't know how Hari puts up with her."

He was nearly pushed over when a bushy-haired girl broke through his group.

Neville frowned, he was sure he heard a sniffle as Hermione passed them.

Seamus spoke up.

"I think she heard you..."

Ron was looking decidedly uncomfortable.

"So, she must've realized she's got no friends."

"Hey!"

The four boys turned around to see a clearly pissed off Potter.

"Take-that-back-now," ground out Hari through clenched teeth.

"Huh..."

Two tiny fires seemed to have been lit behind Hari's irises making them brighter than normal.

"Hermione does have friends! Me! She's my best friend! You're lucky she needs me right now or Madam Pomfrey'd be getting a new patient tonight..."

Hari pushed through the stunned boys and left the corridor looking for Hermione. Turning the corner she closed her eyes, breathed deeply, and nearly sixty seconds later she managed to 'touch' her magic like how Master taught her. Directing her internal magic into her legs she opened her eyes and broke into a run; Hermione would probably be in the closest bathroom. As far as Hari knew that would be Moaning Myrtle's loo. Ten paces into her trot she attempted an Instant Movement; she struggled to shape small amounts of her magic into a tight ball in the sole of her feet then she released it and shot forward two meters before tripping onto her face... Getting up, she shook her head and decided to just run the normal way before she gave herself a concussion.

-Scene Change-

Hari pushed the heavy double doors open and entered the dilapidated loo.

"Hermione? Are you in there?"

Hari heard a whimpering acknowledgement from one of the stalls and she stepped up to the door.

"Hermione, It's me. I don't want you to listen to that toss pot Ron Weasley."

Hermione opened the door and Hari slipped into the stall.

"I know," said a red eyed Hermione, "It's just what he said made me flash back to primary school..."

Intrigued, Hari asked:

"What about primary school?"

Hermione looked into Hari's eyes.

"You're my first friend, Hari. I'm not stupid, far from it, and that's part of the problem; I was teased and bullied badly for my intelligence and pure need to know. It got even worse when I had my first bit of accidental magic in front of my school yard tormentors; I vanished all their hair," Hermione smiled at the memory as Hari laughed out loud at the revenge, "after that I was considered a freak as well as a teacher's pet." Hari wrapped her arms around Hermione's shoulders. "The only friends I had were my parents. I spent alot of my time trying to find out how I could do what I did; for a little while I thought I was a Jedi and watched the Star Wars movies religiously. I was able to find a little control by using the 'Force'. Watch this," Hermione held her hand forward and a few seconds later the latch on the stall unlocked and the door opened."

Hari's eyes opened wide.

"Hermione, that's absolutely amazing!"

Hermione blushed.

"That's about all I can do; moving small things. And even that took me nearly two years to learn how to do with any consistency."

"Hermione, for a self taught witch who learned from watching Star Wars of all things and didn't even know what she was doing was magic, that's remarkable." Hari put on a teasing smile, "You should show McGonagall, ya' never know, you might get extra credit."

Hermione giggled and Hari smiled, happy that Hermione was going to be fine.

"Come on, 'Mione, Halloween feast's on tonight, Dora says it's got the best food until the leaving feast."

Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"'Mione?"

Hari flushed a bit.

"It's what I've been calling you in my head for a while now. I figure that you nicknamed me Sparrow then I could call my best friend by a nickname as well."

Hermione moved her head so she wasn't looking at Hari and subtly wiped her eyes free of the unexpected tears that had welled up at being called anyone's 'best friend'.

Hari was getting nervous at Hermione's lack of response; Hari knew that there were some people who hated to have their name's shortened or nicknames given to them.

"Hermione, If you don't like it I can stop calling you that..."

Hermione turned back to her best friend and beamed at her before giving her the biggest hug she had ever given someone (and that's saying something because Hermione's hugs are legendary).

"I love it! But only you get to call me that."

Hari smiled and pulled herself and Hermione into a standing position.

"Let's go."

Ron's POV

Ron Weasley was sitting next to his best mate Neville Longbottom eating in the Great Hall when the doors slammed open and Professor Quirrell ran in looking terrified.

"Troll! Troll in the dungeons!" He started to sway back and forth. "Thought you ought to know." He fell forward in a faint.

Pandemonium erupted from all four student tables.

Dumbledore rose, his face stern and commanding.

"STOP!"

Every one froze instantly.

"Prefects, you are to take your housemates back to your common rooms. Slytherins, take your's to the library while we deal with this."

Ron and Neville started following Percy Weasley with the rest of the first years when Neville turned to Ron and put a arm in front of him.

"Wait, Hari and Hermione don't know about the troll!"

Ron frowned and said:

"C'mon, If were lucky we can get them back to the common room without being seen (by teachers or the troll.)

They took off at a run, making sure to peek around corners for other people and enemy's and were nearly seen by Professor Snape who was entering the forbidden third floor corridor.

Coming upon a derelict bathroom the two would be rescuers smelt something close to the stench of the kind of toilet nobody cleans mixed with a trash heap filled with rotting food.

The boys could see the troll; It was large -at least twelve feet tall, and gray-skinned. It had a peanut shaped head, a vacant yet mean expression, and large teeth in it's wide mouth. It's thick arms were disproportionately long and it had stubby yet muscular legs. It wore a brown loincloth and carried a big club made out of a white bone of some sort.

Gulping, the lads scurried behind a suit of armor and watched as it entered the loo.

Ron turned to Neville and quipped:

"When you gotta go, you gotta go."

Snorting, Neville pulled Ron to the bathroom door and pointed to a key in the lock. Smiling, the two boys silently closed the door and turned the key. Only to jump back in alarm as they heard two feminine screams.

Dumbledore's POV

The teachers were running through the halls of Hogwarts heading to the dungeons.

"Severus, I want you to check the stone while we confront the troll. We cannot rule out that this may be a diversion in an attempt to seize the Sorcerer's Stone."

Severus Snape nodded and took the next right as her headed for a hidden teachers passage way.

Professor McGonagall turned to the Headmaster

"Albus, who do you think could have let the troll in?"

Dumbledore sighed.

"Alas, I don't know. It might not be related to the stone at all it might be a Halloween prank

and there is no troll -only an illusion that scared poor Quirinus. Or it could be an attempt on the stone by the thieve(s), until we catch them we won't know for sure."

Snape's POV

Severus Snape broke off from the rest of the teachers and took a professor only passage that would lead him directly to the third floor corridor.

When he arrived he noticed that no one had been there that night so he decided to wait; he stood in a shadowy corner and put a powerful selection of privacy spells on himself so no one would notice his presence.

It wasn't two minutes later when Professor Quirrell entered through the same teachers passage way he had used. Deciding to wait and see what Quirinus did he stood there with his hand on his wand.

Quirrell drew his wand and began running detection spells over the first door. A few seconds later he scoffed and opened the door leading to the first trap with a simple, softly spoken 'Alohamora!'

Severus silently drew his wand and strengthened his occlumency barriers; a habit he picked up from when he spied on the Dark Lord.

"Evening, Quirinus. Fancy a late night walk?"

Quirrells POV

Extending his senses and knowing that the hall was empty, Quirinus Quirrell stood and strode out of the Great Hall and into a secret passage way that would take him nearly directly to the third floor corridor.

After the failure with Jeremiah Smith his master had been quiet and restful. He'd never say it but he was glad for the time off; hosting someone as powerful as the Dark Lord would be draining for anybody and he needed the reprieve.

Coming upon the door to the third floor he drew his wand from a invisible holster on his forearm he ran a Diagnostic Charm he learned from a Romanian Curse Breaker over the door. The reading he got back made him scoff; the door could be opened with a simple first year charm.

Pointing his wand at the lock he muttered:

"Alohamora!"

"Evening, Quirinus. Fancy a late night walk?"

Hari's POV

Hari smiled and pulled herself and Hermione into a standing position.

"Let's go."

Hermione nodded happily and made to move when a tremor knocked her and Hari over.

"What was that?"

A horrible smell seemed to permeate the room and Hari looked towards the door.

"Her-Her-Hermione..."

"Yes, Hari?"

"Is that a Troll?"

"I do believe so..."

"Oh..."

The two looked at each other and screamed like the little girls they are, drawing it's attention.

The beast raised It's club threateningly and advanced on the two girls. Hari grabbed Hermione and pulled the unresponsive girl to the wall farthest away form the troll. The creature raised it's club and started knocking sinks off the wall and wrecking the stalls in an intimidating display of strength.

"Oi, Peabrain!"

Ron Weasley and Neville Longbottom burst through the door.

"Help us!" Screamed Hari.

"Distract it!" Shouted Neville, who's round face was screwed up in concentration.

He seized an iron pipe that had been knocked off the wall and threw it at the trolls head.

The pipe did nothing but the noises the boys were making effectively drew the monster's attention.

"C'mon, Hermione! We need to get out of here!" Hari started pulling on Hermione's arm.

But it was no good. Hermione was frozen in pure terror, her mouth open in a silent scream, and her hand clutching at her chest.

Growling, Hari turned back to the troll that had started lumbering it's way towards the two boys.

Seeing her chance, Hari, with adrenaline fueled strength, hefted Hermione over her shoulder and darted through the trolls legs. Hermione seemed to gain a bit of cognizance and started to wiggle on Hari's shoulder so Hari put her down and pulled her to the door to the bathroom with Ron and Neville following them. Clearing the doorway, the two boys slammed the doors shut and turned the key not a moment too soon because the troll started to beat on the door with it's club.

"Why the bloody fuck is a troll in the castle?"

This surprised everyone present because Hermione Granger never swore.

Hari couldn't help it, with the adrenaline leaving her system and Hermione's hair becoming bushier and bushier in her indignation, she let out a relieved, bark-like laugh.

"C'mon, let's get back to the common room, we can talk on the wa-"

CRASH!

The troll stood in the destroyed arch way, It seemed it had sacrificed it's bone club because it was laying splintered behind it, the mangled remains of two rusty metal doors on either side

of the beast and a cloud of dust from broken stonework surrounding it. The irritated creature roared at the re-terrified firsties and he stomped towards Hari and Hermione.

Dumbledore's POV

The teachers had just finished sweeping the dungeon and were regrouping so they could search the rest of the castle when they heard a tremendous crash coming from the Entrance Hall.

"Come!" Shouted an alarmed Dumbledore.

Hari's POV

Raising his hand, the troll tried to hit Hermione but Hari drew her wand and desperately shouted ''Protego!'' The beasts lumpy, calloused, hand collided with the most complete shield Hari had ever produced. Hari felt the force of the strike jarring every bone in her body and she fell to one knee. Rearing back, the troll readied itself for another attack while Hari yelled for Hermione to move out of the way.

Ron and Neville ran to Hermione and attempted to move the girl who had fallen over with

fright and was staring blankly at the troll through the semi-transparent purple shield.

The troll punched forward once more, he successfully shattered the battered protection, and swept the three first years fifteen feet away into a wall where they slid down and lay motionless on the ground.

The world seemed to slow for Hari and all she could do was focus on the sight of her best friend and house mates laying hurt on the ground.

And suddenly a terrible anger overcame Hari Potter; those were Hari's classmates and that was Hari's best friend and that monster hurt them, they were just there and the beast hurt them for no reason! Well, she won't stand for it!

The air in the hallway grew heavy and Hari could feel her magic now more than she ever could in her long hours of training with her Master.

Hari now understood the words of her Master from the end of their very first training session:

_"Just a minute of real life or death combat is greater than days running drills against a dummy." _

_"This is it,"_ thought Hari, _"this is my first taste of real combat... Watch me, Master." _

The troll must've instinctively picked up on a new threat because he turned from admiring his handiwork and looked at the enraged young witch.

Hari widened her stance and did the calming breathing exercises her master showed her; she'd need to be calm and have precise control her magic if she wanted to beat the highly spell resistant creature.

There was silence until the troll snarled and raised it's club to attack. Hari waited until the club was close before using her incomplete Instant Movement to move forward a few feet into it's guard, surprising it a bit; most small squishy things ran from it's punch. She brandished her wand and cast towards the ceiling one of the new spells she had taught herself recently: _"Carpe Retractum!"_ A rope of red plasma attached itself to the roof and pulled Hari above the monster. Canceling the spell she dropped onto the beasts shoulder, pointed her wand at the back of the troll's head, and yelled: _"Bombarda!" _

Instead of turning the head of the beast into so much pulp like she thought it'd do it only made the beast fall to one knee and shake it's head stupidly as if trying to clear it.

_"Damn, well now what am I going to do?" _

Forcing a small amount of her still active magic into her legs she jumped off the shoulder of the shell shocked beast and landed ten feet in front of the troll.

Thinking on the fly she looked at her surroundings for something she could use. Hari noticed

the rusty dust from the broken doors, dried bone splinters, and stonework had settled on the floor

Hari thought back on her science lessons in newfound appreciation. She smiled and made an overhead, circular, motion with her wand and incanted:

"Ventus!"

The second year Wind Charm picked up and gathered the dust, rust, and bone chips into a cyclone surrounding the stunned troll. Smiling grimly, she pointed her wand at the dust covered monster.

"Candela Lux!"

A tiny ball of orange flame that was usually used for lighting candles or a pipe leapt from the

tip of Hari's wand and ignited the various particles in the air causing a violent dust explosion that engulfed the troll in super heated fire.

Hari breathed a sigh of relief and lowered her wand only for a large charred hand to burst from the fire and knock her into the air before the beast it was attached to fell unconscious. Hari also felt consciousness leave her as she hit the floor.

Snape's POV

Snape advanced on the stuttering professor, his wand raised in a balanced dueling stance that allowed for quick movements as well as room to work bigger spells.

"N-now, Severus, this isn't w-what you think," invented Quirrell wildly, "I t-t-thought that the t-troll might be a diversion and when I w-woke up I came here to check o-on the e-e-enchantments. But that doesn't e-explain w-w-what you're d-doing here."

"I," said Snape in his whisper of a voice, "am here on Dumbledore's orders doing the exact. same. thing."

"S-smart man, that D-D-Dumbledore..."

"Indeed," sneered Snape, "I think it would be best if we find the other professors and assist them in locating the troll."

Quirrell nodded jerkily.

"R-right."

Snape gestured for Quirrell to lead the way; no need to be shot in the back.

Dumbledore's POV

Dumbledore and his teachers skidded around the corridor; a little while earlier they had heard a second explosion and noticed a strange smell on the air similar to sulfur.

Approaching the origin of the stench the professors drew their wands and turned around one last corner.

They nearly fell over at the sight that awaited them; the brick in a thirty foot circumference of the half-burnt corpse of what used to be a twelve foot tall mountain troll was blackened and Hari Potter was laying unconscious in singed and torn school robes ten feet from the troll, her right arm was bent at an odd angle and blood seemed to be seeping from several deep cuts. Right outside the blast radius were three other first year Gryffindors, also with singed clothing (and hair; in the case of Hermione Granger). The doors to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom were bent and completely torn off the hinges and along with what seemed to be the femur of a large male giant was broken into two pieces and was also charred.

Minerva broke the stunned silence.

"What the bloody hell happened here?"

Not even Dumbledore dare correct his deputy's language.

Marching over to Hermione she ennervated her with a flick of her wand.

"Uhhh..." moaned the bushy-haired one.

McGonagall was not one to be deterred in her quest for information.

"Ms. Granger, what happened here?"

Coming to a bit Hermione perked up and ran to Hari; completely ignoring her Head of House.

"Hari!" Gasped Hermione. "C'mon wake up."

Hari stirred and McGonagall spluttered a bit; a student hadn't blatantly ignored her since Ms. Potter's father had been a student in the seventies.

"M-'Mione," coughed Hari, "how are you? You took a hit from the troll and the wall."

Hermione started to hyperventilate and the other teachers gathered around to listen in and hopefully glean any details of the night's events.

"How am I? Hari, I'm fine; just a bump on the head and a few cuts. You, however look terrible."

Hari attempted to smirk but instead grimaced.

"You should see the other guy."

She chuckled weakly; it looked as though she had a few broken ribs as well.

A teary-eyed Hermione also chuckled at Hari's attempt at fixing a depressing situation.

"Yeah you did it, you killed the thing."

That got the teachers attention.

Hari reached out with her non-broken arm and cupped Hermione's cheek.

"It hurt you," whispered Hari obviously struggling to stay awake, "I promised to protect you, to be there for you when you fall. To be your protector," she smiled, "your knight in dirty school robes, remember?"

Hermione had tears pouring from her eyes as some of the teachers, having heard enough, went to check on the other two students while McGonagall and Dumbledore stood over the two young girls.

"Yeah, I remember, I also have to give you your reward don't I?" She cleaned off her dusty and smudged face with a handkerchief she pulled from an inside robe pocket. She gave Hari a watery smile, leaned forward and kissed Hari on the cheek; lingering long enough for it to mean something.

Hari face tinged red a bit while she smiled and for the first time noticed the professors who appeared to be trying to make themselves deaf and blind for a moment. The other teachers levitated the other two first years away.

"Sir," said Hari weakly, "I bet you have a few small questions." -McGonagall snorted at the understatement- "Can you just take a copy of my memory?" She leaned her head forward as if to tell a secret. "I'm kinda tired."

Dumbledore approached Hari, knelt down and gently put the tip of his wand to Hari's bruised temple and extracted a copy of the nights events.

"Awesome..." Hari's head fell back. "I'm gonna take a nap now." Hari closed her eyes and passed out.

End of Chapter Four!

Authors Note:

Here they are, the very first Character Profiles

_Character Profile: _

_Hari "Sparrow" Roslyn Potter _

_Age: 11 _

_Height: 5' 2'' _

_Weight: Well that's just rude. Lets just say that she's skinn- I mean slender and leave it at that, huh? _

_Physical Characteristics: Both of Hari's parents were tall people who finished growing early, once Hari's off the nutrient potions and caught up with her peers she'll be the same. _

_Favorite/Best Subjects: _

_Defense Against the Dark Arts/Charms -She shows a natural aptitude for both _

_Least Favorite/Worst Subjects: _

_Potions/Transfiguration -She has trouble when it comes to 'finesse' subjects that require precise control of magic a (She just hates Potions because of the teacher) _

_Personality: _

_Hari, not having friends since she was very young, is very protective of the ones she does have. Hari wants to protect her "precious people" and even undertakes grueling training to ensure she has the abilities to do so. Hari covers her insecurity behind a tough mask but inside she is just as fragile as the next girl or boy. Hari has a more 'developed' magical core than her classmates, whether this means that her core will finish growing before her peers or she'll always have access to more internal magic than others remains to be seen. Hari has a tough time regulating the amount of magic she puts behind her spells and as such is not suited to magics requiring finesse. Hari seems to have a fascination with boobs and can't wait to grow her own. _

_Hermione "'Mione" Jean Granger _

_Age: 12 _

_Height: 5' 1'' _

_Weight: You just don't learn, do you? _

_Physical Characteristics: Hermione is physically the most developed first (and second) year girl _

_in Gryffindor. She will probably be of average height and curvy like her mother, Jean, who she's the spitting image of (except for her fathers hair). _

_Favorite/Best subjects: _

_Runes/Arithmancy - Even though she's never had a class on them her private studying has given her a basic understanding of both fields. _

_Least Favorite Subject: _

_Potions/Defense Against the Dark Arts - She doesn't like that Snape doesn't acknowledge her as the most competent brewer in their year because she's a Gryffindor. And she's far too squeamish around violence to care for Defense much either (doesn't stop her theory grade from being second only to Hari.) _

_Personality: _

_Hermione is a young girl with confidence issues that are more plain to see than Hari's. She developed a control of her powers and can even do some minor wandless magic. Studious to a fault, she has the overall best grades in her year and excels in all aspects of theory work. Hermione seems to be a natural linguist and knows several languages. She seems to freeze when the going gets tough and she dislikes the thought of violence. That is not to say that she dislikes a little payback, but she'd rather not get caught by the teachers/person of authority in the process. _

Alternate names for this chapter:  
>Flying, the Head Snake, and A Friendship Forged In Fire<br>Flying, the Head Snake, and A Friendship Forged In Strife  
>Classes, Medical Exams, and Trolls In the Dungeon!<p>

About Neglectful Relatives and Their Cummupance (delivered by an irate twelve year old):

Don't think Hermione would act so vicious in canon? Well I do; after a week or two of  
>friendship with Harry -Hermione set fire to the most 'dangerous' professor at Hogwarts (not counting Dumbledore) when she thought Snape was trying to hurt Harry. What do you think she'd do to Hari's muggle relatives who didn't have the authority of being a teacher to back them up?<p>

About Hari's freakouts:  
>I had originally intended to put her breakdown in the bathroom on Halloween and only have Hari talk about her wand's specialty when Hermione asked about Hari desperately wanting to learn as much about magical combat as possible; but this scene wrote itself on the fly and I liked how it turned out so I kept it.<p>

About Tonks' Eve's Dropping spell:  
>The spell that Dora used to eavesdrop on the talk by the lake works by making a 'drill' with raw magic and then by poking a small unnoticeable hole in the 'dome' of the silencing spell the user then charms (Supersensory Charm) an ear to listen at the 'hole'. Her ear started bleeding because the spell makes it seem like everything it (the ear) hears was like it was being said directly into it (the ear). Tonks found this technique in the restricted section in her fourth year.<p>

About Hari's healing spells:  
>Purgare is latin for cleanse and is used for cleaning dirt out of a wound. Tergeo is a gentle scouring spell in canon but in this story it's a spell to temporarily stop a wound from bleeding. Vulnera Sanentur was the spell (in the movie) that Snape used to heal Draco after Harry hit him with Sectumsempra. I figure that if it can close a swordslash that it should be able to close her damaged hand. Tela is simply Latin for gauze - as far as I know I came up with this spell- all it does is transfigure paper or cloth into a roll of gauze. Ferula was used in Prisoner of Azkaban by Remus Lupin to bind Ron's leg in a splint I would hazard a guess that it can also bind other wounds. Dollorem is another spell of mine and it is Latin for 'No Pain'. Hari was able to do these spells as they are all simple (Except for Vulnera Sanentur -Because it required precise magical control and Tela -which is a transfiguration).<p>

About Super Human Abilities:  
>I used the idea of Instant Movement from Mahou Sensei Negima And expanded it into Temperance: The ability to infuse your body with magic making it stronger, Cantus Bellax (Battle Hymn) was the inspiration for this, only you dont need a wand or staff for this, it's all wandless and internal involving a great deal of mental control. Both of these skills are standard issue for Aurors, Hit-Wizards, MLE Officers, Death Eaters, and Random Badasses (Like Remus -though he normally has werewolf strength- and Sirius.) At this time I won't have Hari mastering this for a while (though that may change as the story goes on; I don't plan my stories out except for a few major points.)<p>

A Day In the Life (A Trolls Tale of Life, Love, and the Universe):  
>I originally wanted to tell the events of Halloween through the troll's eyes because I had never seen it done, but it proved to be more troublesome than it was worth and I scrapped it. This scene played out far different than how I first pictured it. Originally I wanted Hari to transfigure wooden shrapnel from the broken stalls into a bunch of needles that she would then enlarge to the size of daggers with the Engorgement Charm she read about when she and Hermione explored the school before either banishing them or using a spell like Carpe Retractum to whip them at the troll like very big darts. This was before I even started writing the story and gave Hari a weakness in Transfiguration so I obviously couldn't use it... *sigh.* It sounded really cool too.<p>

So, here's chapter four. I started writing this nearly two weeks before I posted the first chapter and it doubles the word count and is nearly eighty pages long. NEVER AGAIN! This is the last of my pre-made chapters so expect the next chapter to take a while.

I feed off reviews and they make me a better writer, so go ahead and click that button at the bottom of the page, you know which one I mean, it says Review this Chapter. Go ahead... Click it...


	5. Chapter 5

AN: I made a mistake in the last chapter; Charlie Weasley was born in the same year as Tonks. So In this story Charlie was born a year earlier than Tonks and graduated the year before Hari started a Hogwarts. (This is me attempting to write myself out of a hole filled with Norwegian Ridgeback's.)

If it's not obvious I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter Five

Quidditch, a Clue, and the Holidays Part One

November 3, 1991

"Uhhhnn..."

"She's waking up!"

"Hari.."

Hari Potter slowly opened her emerald eyes and felt small hands gently slip her glasses on her face.

"Th'nk you..." Mumbled Hari.

She felt herself being lifted into a sitting position.

"Where am I?" Asked Hari as her eyesight cleared up to see that she was surrounded by Hermione on her right and Dora on her left with Ron and Neville at the foot of the bed. All of them looked upon her with worry on their face.

It was Hermione who answered.

"The Hospital Wing, you've been unconscious for three days. Madam Pomfrey said you were nearly dead..." Tears welled up in Hermione's eyes. "You had so many injuries that Madam Pomfrey had to call in other Healers from St. Mungo's Magical Hospital in London."

Hari pulled Hermione into a comforting hug.

"Hey... Hey... I'm alright..." Soothed Hari

Hermione started mumbling things into Hari's shoulder

"Y-you don't understand, I thought I'd lost you. I nearly did."

Hari tightened her hug and turned to Dora who had kept silent since the start of the conversation.

The pink-haired one spoke up.

"You had several broken bones, severe burns, blunt force trauma to nearly all your soft tissues, a concussion, and your magical core was nearly drained. Oh, and Madam Pomfrey's not happy you hid the wound that made that scar on your knuckles."

She said this in such a matter of fact and compassionless voice that Hari knew that it must be driving Hermione up the walls.

There was a silence as Hari absorbed the information before she gestured to the other three firsties.

"How are you three? Any injuries?"

Ron shrugged.

"Neville and I got away with a few lumps. Nothing serious. They didn't even have to call in my mum, thank goodness." He shivered. "I can only imagine the stink she'd raise if I, or any of my siblings, were seriously hurt."

Neville nodded.

"Yeah," Neville also started to shake, "I wouldn't want my Gran to know what happened. It'd be horrible... She'd raise all kinds of Hell."

Neville blushed when he realized who he was talking to so casually.

Hermione gave Hari a hard look.

"How did you beat the troll? The teachers refuse to tell us."

"A lot of luck," said Hari shortly, not wanting to go into her training.

Hermione seemed to get the point and kept quiet though she had a look on her face that promised Hari that their talk was not over.

Hari nodded her head at Hermione.

"Look," said Ron, oblivious to the subtle interplay between the two girls, "I wanted to apologize to you Hermione; I was angry and embarrassed when I said what I said, and because of that you and Hari were nearly killed by a bloody troll of all things. If it's alright with you I would really like to be your friend."

Hari looked to Hermione and made a sweeping motion with her hand; she'd follow Hermione's lead on this.

Hermione was silently scrutinizing an increasingly uncomfortable Ron Weasley.

"I forgive you," she finally said, "just don't do it again, okay," she pointed at Hari, "I'd have to set my knight and champion, Sir Hari Troll's Bane on you."

Hari sent a sappy, lavish expression filled with fake adoration at Hermione.

"Oh Hermione, Lady of the Library, Mistress of Books and Tomes, Keeper of Arcane and Eldritch Secrets, and Lover of All Knowledge, you honor me with knighthood! Mayhap you should seal my service and gift me with another kiss! Surely, I would be able to die happily if you would but look upon me with your favor!"

The two girls broke into giggles that took awhile to subside because they started up again every time they looked at each other.

Hermione managed to glance upon the two amused boys.

"I'd like to be your friend, Ron, and your's as well Neville."

Ron and Neville grinned at Hari and Hermione.

"What's happening with the other students?" Questioned Hari. "What do they know?"

It was Dora who answered.

"Nothing, the teachers have cordoned off the battleground but it's still visible. The kids figured it out that a student was sent to the Hospital Wing and then Hari doesn't show for several days, It was easy for even the dimmest of the student's to figure out that you had something to do with it, Hari. You should be prepared for a lot of annoying questions from students unable to mind their own business."

Hari groaned.

"That's great, as if I don't get enough unwanted attention being the 'effen Girl-Who's-Name-Must-Be-Hyphenated."

Both Hermione and Dora shot her sympathetic looks as Ron and Neville looked on in confusion.

"What I want to know," began Hermione in a suspicious tone, "is how a troll got into the school in the first place? I mean, This school is supposed to be famous as the safest place in Europe with tons of enchantments protecting it. There is no way that stupid beast got in here on it's own."

The collected teenagers frowned.

Dora started rubbing her chin in thought.

"That... Is a really good point..."

Neville and Ron looked at each other.

"I don't know if it's connected but when we were looking for you two on Halloween we saw Snape enter the forbidden third floor corridor," said Ron.

Neville nodded.

"He was looking kind of shifty, like he didn't want to be found."

Hari's frown deepened.

"That is strange," mumbled Hari, "it's almost like he was waiting for a diversion. A self made diversion, perhaps?"

She looked to Hermione and Tonks.

"What do you think, Master?"

Neville and Ron exchanged a raised eyebrow at the word 'Master'.

Dora took her time to weigh her answer.

"I think that the situation bears watching, I'll get in touch with a few friends and see what they know."

Hari was curious as to what she meant by 'friends' but decided to trust her Master and nodded.

"I wonder what's behind the door?" Thought Hermione out loud.

Hari sighed.

"Another good question."

"One that I can answer," said Dora, prompting everyone to look at her, "a few nights into term I decided to check out the third floor and, in my curiosity, I opened the door. Inside was a single room that had a three headed dog that stood from floor to ceiling. I didn't stay long because I knew what the growls he was giving me meant but I did see that the beast was standing on a trap door. That dog is protecting something."

Everyone was quiet as it was obvious that Hari was lost in thought. Just as the extended silence became uncomfortable Hari turned to Hermione and asked: "So, what have I missed in class?"

Hermione brightened in the way that she always brightened when someone took their studies seriously.

"You only missed Friday's lessons so all you have to do is an essay in Defense and History so I think you could get all caught up in no time."

Hari smiled at Hermione; it was good seeing her so happy considering she had been crying the last time Hari saw her.

Hari was about to ask if Hermione could run to their dorm and get the appropriate texts when the doors to the infirmary opened and in walked Dumbledore, his eye watering neon green robes flowing out behind him.

"Good morning, Ms. Potter, I hope you are well."

000 0000 000

Dumbledore's POV

Albus Dumbledore was sitting on his gilded throne in his office. One of the delicate silver instruments that he had attuned to Hari Potter's general health started spewing forth white smoke, informing him of Hari's return to consciousness.

Getting up from his seat he deactivated the device and started the long trek to the infirmary while thinking back on Halloween.

000 Flashback Start 000

_"Awesome..." Hari's head fell back. "I'm gonna take a nap now." Hari closed her eyes and passed out. _

_Dumbledore drew his wand and flicked it, conjuring a stretcher on which he levitated the inert body of Harriet Potter. With a softly spoken, "Mobilicorpus," he set off to the Hospital Wing. Hermione Granger clutching Hari's hand between her's all the way. _

_Entering the Infirmary, Dumbledore saw that both Ron Weasley and Neville Longbottom were resting under the aid of a mild sleeping drought. _

_Madam Pomfrey exited her office and bustled over to the Headmaster before running several diagnostic charms over Hari, her face becoming more stony after each one. _

_Swishing her wand, she used a Healer grade Levitation Charm and gently floated Hari to a bed before a she summoned her personal house-elf. Giving instructions to Bippy, she set out to her potions cabinet and started gathering a plethora of different shaped flasks, vials, and bottles off of hardwood racks while the house-elf popped to St. Mungo's to fetch help. _

_Poppy had been working to stabilize Hari for nearly ten minutes when her office's floo activated and three different Healers stepped into the Hospital Wing. _

_The four medical professionals started conversing in hushed tones while Dumbledore settled Ms. Granger into an empty bed and fed her the same sleeping potion that were keeping Mr. Weasley and Mr. Longbottom down. _

_After healing Hermione's relatively minor wounds, Dumbledore strode to the hard at work quartet feeling particularly useless. _

_Extracting the conjured glass vial that held a copy of Hari's memory he nodded his head to himself. Knowing that there was nothing to be gained from waiting, he sent a messenger spell to his Head of Houses to meet him at his office. _

_Meeting his trusted teachers and advisors at the gargoyle that guards the hidden entrance to the Headmaster's office he quickly gave the password (Skittles, Taste the Rainbow) and boarded the revolving staircases, the other teachers following him shortly. _

_Shuffling his tired feet to the cabinet where he kept his pensieve he extracted the stone bowl and placed it on his desk where he and his four heads surrounded it. Pouring the memory in the professors dipped their heads in the silvery substance. _

_000 Time Skip 000 _

_Thirty minutes later, the five teachers pulled out of the memory; each of them had astonished looks on their face. _

_Professor McGonagall turned to Professor Snape and smirked. _

_"What was it that you were telling me at the last teachers meeting Severus. That 'Ms. Potter was a spoilt no talent witch who relied on her fame to get what she wanted.' How many of your first year Slytherin's could kill a fully grown moutain troll and use Auror skills -incomplete though they are- with any success." _

_Severus grumbled something that made Minerva smile. _

_"And what of Ms. Granger? Controlled wandless magic at her age! And she had been able to do it before she even knew that magic existed. You mark my words those two Lions will go far if it's the last thing I do." _

_"It's odd isn't it?" piped up Professor of Herbology and Head of Hufflepuff House, Pomona Sprout, before Severus could say something and have the conversation turn into another argument between the two house rivals. "That after Jeremiah(?) attacked Hari she shows up using a fighting style similar to the woman who saved her, Nymphadora Tonks; relying on Instant Movement and Temperance to avoid damage." _

_Professor Flitwick 'Hmmm'd' _

_"All I know is that it's too bad she already seems to have a teacher; I would've offered her an apprenticeship in a heartbeat. In both Dueling and Charms, mind. I wouldn't be surprised if, with enough training, she could become a champion duelist." _

_The teachers all settled into squashy Chintz armchairs that the Headmaster conjured for them (except Minerva, who vanished hers and conjured her own straight-backed wooden chair.) _

_"Severus," began Albus, "What happened at the third floor corridor?" Asked the Headmaster in an effort to get the meeting back on track. _

_"It was as you thought, Headmaster; the troll appears to have been a diversion. I caught Quirinus attempting to break into Fluffy's chamber. Of course, he told me that he had the same thought as you and was just checking on the stone but we all know that that's a lie. Indeed, he even tried to accuse me of attempting to steal the stone. Idiot." _

_Professor Dumbledore nodded in acceptance of Snape's information. _

_"Thank you, Severus." _

_He turned to McGonagall _

_"Minerva, what of the damage to the hallway? How long will it take to repair?" _

_Professor McGonagall removed her rectangular glasses and polished them on a conjured cloth. _

_"The troll did a number on Moaning Myrtle's doors," sighed Minerva, "we'll have to replace them; no amount of magic is going to fix that kind of damage. The scorch marks should be no problem for the house-elves, but the stonework will need to be replaced, as much of what broke off the wall was used as fuel for the explosion that Ms. Potter caused." _

_Albus Dumbledore nodded. _

_"See that you get what you need to have the elves repair the damages." _

_McGonagall nodded her understanding and the meeting broke up shortly afterwards. _

000 End of Flashback 000

Dumbledore neared the doors to the Hospital Wing thinking one last thing:

_'Minerva is right. I've never seen a first year so strong before, I think the training she's getting is a good thing but it needs to be moderated, gradual; I can't let her become obsessed with her own power, I refuse to allow another Tom Riddle to be born in these halls.' _

Albus Dumbledore pushed the Hospital Wing doors open and put a smile on his face.

"Good morning, Ms. Potter, I hope you are well."

Hari smiled and nodded at the Headmaster.

"I'm well sir, and ready to get back to classes."

Dumbledore beamed underneath his great silver beard; no matter how old he gets it always warmed his heart to see students embrace their learning.

"Excellent, Hari, If you feel up to it I'd like to talk about what happened on Halloween?"

It was voiced as a question but Hari got the feeling that she didn't have any choice in the matter.

"Yes, sir."

"Very good," he turned to the other three firsties, "If you three would please give me some time to talk to Ms. Potter and Ms. Tonks in private that would be wonderful. I assure you that you will be allowed in shortly."

Ron and Neville started walking to the door after giving out goodbyes while Hermione gave Hari one last hug.

"I'll bring you your stuff for your essays soon, okay Sparrow?"

Hari smiled and nodded.

Hermione turned and exited the infirmary behind Ron and Neville. The door closed and Dumbledore pulled his wand and sent a locking charm at it.

"Now, I have a few questions for you both."

Hari looked up at a stony-faced Dora.

"I'm going to try and be as blunt as possible; are you, Nymphadora Tonks, teaching advanced combat to Harriet Potter?"

Tonks nodded once.

"What have you taught her?

Hari could tell that she didn't want to answer.

"Just dueling practice, the theory of moderating her internal magic, and lecturing her on how magic works. I haven't yet actively taught her any spells, and won't, until after the holidays."

Dumbledore nodded.

"What do you mean 'actively taught her any spells'?"

Dora's eyes hardened

"I can't help it if she learns new magics by watching me in our practice spars."

Hari didn't like it that they were talking about her as though she wasn't there but somehow knew that it would be better for everyone if she just stayed quiet.

"I," began Dumbledore importantly, "think it would be beneficial if I or another teacher were to sit in on your lessons to help or offer suggestions, should you need it."

Dora's face twitched.

"No, I think not, Professor," said Tonks, shaking her head in (fake) resignation, "Hari is my Apprentice. As such I, and I alone, am fit to decide what to teach her."

Dumbledore's face slackened momentarily before he smiled stiffly and nodded.

Turning around, he quickly strode to the door.

Looking over his shoulder he said: "Hari, it is imperative that you not speak of what happened on Halloween with any but your closest friends; and even then only under privacy spells. I think, and the other teachers agree with me, that it would cause panic amongst the students. As such, we can't officially reward you for protecting the school but rest assured that you have the staff's thanks."

He dropped the privacy spells on the door an exited the Hospital Wing without a second look back.

Dumbledore walked back to his office and poured a tumbler of Fire Whisky; he'd need to think about what to do about Ms. Tonks and her relationship with Hari...

000 0000 000

Hari's POV

Dumbledore turned out of the infirmary with a swish of his robe and Hari turned to a much calmer Dora.

"Master, what was that about?"

"Dumbledore was just looking to exert control over you," said Tonks casually.

"What?"

Dora sighed and turned away from Hari.

"The bond between Master and Apprentice is ancient, older than Hogwarts and standardized magical education. Indeed, before Hogwarts most magical people learned via apprenticeship. In an apprenticeship what the Apprentice learns is completely up to the Master. The bond is incredibly respected; as are most ancient things in the Wizarding World. For him to want someone sitting in on our sessions and even offering suggestions was incredibly insulting to both you and me and our skills as witches."

Hari frowned and Dora turned back to her Apprentice.

"So," spoke Dora, "how was your first taste of real combat?"

Hari ducked her head to hide her small smile as she thought of the adrenaline rush fighting the troll gave her.

"It was fun, fighting the troll, beating a strong opponent, coming out on top eventhough I was hurt," she looked up at Dora, wide eyed and exhilarated and she licked her suddenly dry lips, "does that make me a bad person, Master?"

Dora smiled.

"No Hari, no it doesn't. I myself like to fight; all warriors of real strength enjoy a good fight. People who fight just to protect their family and friends will never be as strong as someone who truly enjoys fighting. You must always fight for yourself. That's not to say that people who only fight for others aren't strong it's just that if you fight both for others and for yourself you will grasp true strength." She put her hand on Hari's head, "remember that."

"Yes, Master."

Suddenly Tonks was all business.

"What did you learn while fighting the troll?"

Hari was silent or a moment while she thought of how to word her response.

"The feelings behind a Shield Charm effect how successful the spell is; when the troll tried to hit Hermione the first time I was able to block it using my Protego Charm because I desperately wanted to protect her."

Dora nodded.

"The feelings behind a spell are more important than most people realize; this is even more evident when it comes to defensive magic like shielding. A example of emotions and intent effecting magic would be the Patronus Charm; a spell used to drive Dementors, Lethifolds, and evil spirits back, it can only be used after successful focusing on a positive emotion."

Dora sat at the foot of Hari's bed.

"What else did you learn?"

"I was able to reach my magic easier when I was angry; the troll had just hurt Hermione, Neville, and Ron, and I was angry at it, I wanted to stop it, to hurt it, and my magic responded to that."

Dora smiled grimly.

"Do you think you can call that magic up again?" Asked Tonks who had pulled her wand and started putting up spells so the two wouldn't be noticed.

Hari was silent for a moment then she closed her eyes, ten seconds later and the area of the Hospital wing that Dora had warded was flooded with power; the air grew heavy and beads of sweat appeared on Hari's brow.

"That's enough," stated Tonks, "that was good, you called it up quicker and smoother than you ever have during practice."

Hari let her magic slip out of her mental grasp with a breathy gasp.

"Hari," began Tonks, "I'm gonna be stepping up your training because of Quidditch practice. We'll probably include swordsmanship as well as muggle martial arts; just incase you're disarmed; most Aurors and Hitwizards have at least some basic training in physical fighting."

Hari nodded before gulping; Dora had a mischievous grin on her face.

"So, my Little Sparrow," Dora cooed she moved over and threw her arm over Hari's shoulder, "you said Hermione needed to give you another kiss, so does that mean she's already kissed you?"

Hari's response was a blush and a ducked head.

Dora's grin widened to face splitting proportions.

"She did, didn't she?"

Hari fell back and covered her head with a pillow while Tonks brayed her donkey-like laugh.

000 Scene Change/Time Skip 000

November 9, 1991

It was early morning and Hari was sleeping when three of her team mates tiredly shuffled into the first year dorms. The girls pulled Hari's bed hangings open and tried to shake her awake. What they didn't expect was for Hari to fire a curse in her sleep that barely missed Katie Bell by inches.

"Holy Hell!"

The shout woke the other girls and Hari sat up blearily still holding her smoking wand.

"Wuh... Wuz goin' on?"

Hari slumped over and fell asleep again; her Master had been working her hard(er) after the Troll.

All three older girls had their wands out on the off chance that they needed to shield against another curse.

"Hari," said Alicia Spinnet, "we have Quidditch practice now. If you can get up without hexing us we'd appreciate it."

Hermione spoke up.

"You three can go down stairs, I'll make sure Hari gets up."

"Yeah," said Lavender groggily, "Hermione is the only girl who can wake Hari without getting a spell in her face."

The three girls warily exited the dorm and Hermione sat on the edge of Hari's mattress.

"Hari," murmured the brown haired girl, "you need to get up, you have Quidditch practice."

Hari put her pillow over her face and made a truly pitiful sound that made Hermione laugh out loud. Hari's green eye peeked around the pillow and the young girl sighed.

"Alright, alright, I'm up."

She mumbled something about 'ungodly hours', and 'hexing the Captain'.

"C'mon Sparrow, time to fly."

Hari sat up and left the warmth of her bed.

000 Time Skip 000

Hari entered the tent set up under the Quidditch stands and sat next to the Chaser Trio. Turning to Alicia, Hari scratched the back of her head.

"I'm sorry, I seem to hex first and ask questions later when sleeping."

"It's okay," said the dark skinned girl while shrugging, "I wanted to hex Oliver when he sent a charmed alarm clock into our dorm."

"Yeah," agreed Angelina Johnson, "It wouldn't stop shouting Oliver's wake up call."

Hari shook her head; she would've destroyed the clock and then killed her new Captain had he done that to her.

Their conversation was cut short as the Captain entered from his office.

"Ok you lot, I spent the summer devising a whole new Quidditch program. Now, most teams only train in the air, so we are going to train in the air and on the ground; that's right, we're all going to be exercising on the ground in an effort to improve our endurance and stamina."

This was met by sleepy groans from the Weasley twins and the Chaser Trio, and Hari was more glad than ever that she had been exercising since her training with Dora began; dueling is more physical (especially with Hari's Master) than most people realize.

Oliver was not pleased by their reactions but before he could reprimand his team Hari spoke first.

"Oh come on!" Hari jumped up from her seat and started doing her pre-duel stretches that her Master taught her. "A little exorcize isn't so bad!"

Oliver positively beamed.

"That's the spirit! You see, Hari's got the right of it!"

The others glared at Hari which she blatantly ignored.

000 Time Skip 000

Hari was leading the team back to the castle; practice had been great, just enough to get the blood pumping and Hari found herself wishing she had a troll or two to fight. Her teammates were not in as good shape and were making pained huffing noises as they shuffled their way to their dorm rooms and a warm shower.

Fred could keep quiet no longer.

"How are you so okay with this?"

Hari didn't want to tell him of her training so she quickly made up a lie.

"Numbing Charms, my good man!"

With that she took off at a run, laughing at her fellow players pleas for her to teach them the useful spell.

000 Scene Change/Time Skip 000

November 10, 1991

The group of four first year Gryffindors were sitting in the library working on their Transfiguration essay.

Ron had a large stack of books in front of him as he worked.

"Ron," began Hermione, "why do you put so much more effort into your Transfiguration homework than your other assignments?"

Ron's head peered over his book barricade.

"Professor McGonagall says that I have a natural disposition for Transfiguration. I get the practical work better than most in the class. I'd probably be the best in that class If I had a wand suited for me."

He pulled his battered, hand-me-down wand from an inner pocket of his robes.

"It used to be my brother Charlie's but he bought a new wand after he graduated; I have to fight the thing to do much of anything in class."

Ron shrugged.

"So you put in more effort when you know you're good at something?"

The redhead nodded.

Hermione 'Hmmm'd' before turning to Neville with a curious look on her face.

"What's your best class, Neville?"

Neville, startled, looked up from his homework.

"Herbology, Professor Sprout said that she hasn't seen someone with my gift for plants in the thirty years she's taught the class." Neville was quiet before he steeled himself and spoke, "My wand also fights me to do most anything in class; it used to belong to my father and my Gran insists that I use it to honor him."

"That's really cool, Neville," said Hermione ignoring the dubious second statement. She turned to her best friend who's mind had obviously been elsewhere, "Hari, what's up? You look a million miles away."

The dark haired girl was focusing on a piece of paper with that was laid out infront of her.

"Huh?" Hari looked up, surprised. "Oh, it's my list, I wrote down what we know about the third floor corridor." She handed the sheet of muggle paper to Hermione and Neville and Ron crowded around the bushy-haired one.

_Notes: _

_Hagrid emptied a vault on my birthday and said what he removed was very secret Hogwarts business. _

_That same vault was broken into later on that very same day. _

_At the opening feast Dumbledore forbid the students from going to the third floor corridor under threat of a 'very painful death'. _

_On Halloween someone let a Troll into the castle. I don't know if this was an unrelated incident or a planned diversion. _

_Dora says that a vicious three-headed dog was guarding the third floor. _

_Neville and Ron say that they saw Snape enter the corridor on Halloween and according to Neville he was 'Shifty looking'. _

Hari growled in annoyance.

"It's just so frustrating, I know something's bad's going down but I don't have enough information to go on so I can't even come up with theory's. I mean, there are other ways to hide something; why would you call attention to what you're hiding by announcing a new forbidden place to a school full of curious teenagers. Surely the Headmaster's office would be safer."

The four students were quiet as they though it over.

Finally, Hermione broke the tension.

"Sparrow," Hari looked up, "It may seem a bit sudden but I was wondering if you wanted to come to my house for the Christmas Hols?

Hari made a face.

"Hermione, isn't Christmas a time for family? Why would you want me over to disrupt that? I'm sure your parents want to spend time with you."

Hermione wore an expression of triumph on her face.

"That's not a problem, I already asked my parents and they said that it was a wonderful idea."

Hari looked hesitant.

"I don't know..."

Hermione worked her big brown eyes for all they were worth.

"Please..."

Hari sighed.

"Fine -damn your puppy eyes."

Hermione beamed and hugged Hari.

"We're going to have a lot of fun!" Hermione turned to Neville and Ron, both of whom were smiling at the two girls, "Do you two have any plans for the holidays?"

"My brothers and I are staying here for Christmas while my parents and little sister are going to Egypt to visit my oldest brother, Bill, who works there as a Curse Breaker for Gringotts."

"I'm going home for the Hols; My Gran and I are always busy for Christmas."

With that the quartet got back to work.

000 Scene Change/Time Skip 000

November 20, 1991

Hari's mind wandered as she waited for her and the rest of the Quidditch team to be called out for the first match of the season.

000 Flashback Start 000

_November 4, 1991 _

_Hari stepped into the Room of Requirement with Tonks for her first training session since Halloween. _

_"-Because your Quidditch practice will interfere with your training I'm going to introduce another function of the Room." _

_"What's that, Master?" Asked Hari curiously as Dora walked to the other side of the room. _

_Master grabbed a book of a shelf and walked back to Hari. _

_"The Room can function as a Hyperbolic Time Chamber..." _

_There was a stunned silence until Dora handed Hari the book, looking down at the book Hari read, Codex: The Room of Requirement. _

_Hari shook her head, This was too much; magic was one thing but there had to be a limit on what Hari would believe without proof. _

_"What is this, Dragon Ball Z!" _

_Dora's answer was an amused laugh. _

_"No," Hari felt herself relaxing, "nothing so drastic. The amount of magic it would require to fit a years worth of training into a day would be astronomical. No, the Room of Requirement can only put twenty-four hours into a hour, and even then this ability can only be used once per week before needing to recharge, so to speak." _

_At seeing Hari's dubious look Dora added on. _

_"Oh come on! It's not that outlandish, the magical world has been experimenting with time since before Hogwarts was even thought of. Take Stasis Charms for example, every magical home employs this enchantment on their pantry and icebox so the food that is put inside is kept fresh longer. It's also used by Healers to keep critically wounded patients alive while they work." _

_Hari rubbed her forehead, she could feel a headache coming on. _

_"Okay, fine, let's just get started," Hari pulled her wand out," what do we need to do to activate the time room?" _

_Tonks also pulled her wand. _

_"That's easy," she turned her head towards the ceiling, "Room, activate Stasis Chamber!" _

_There was a shuddering and Hari saw the walls glow for a minute before it stopped and the Room calmed. _

_"Now," said Tonks, "The Room can do many things but making food isn't one of them," Dora reached into a pocket and pulled out a shrunken picnic basket that she enlarged with a silent flick of her wand, "I brought enough food to last us two days." _

_She banished the basket to a corner. _

_"Defend yourself!" _

_Tonks jabbed her wand at Hari and yelled "Ictus!" A sliver dart of energy shot from Dora's wand but Hari used Incomplete Instant Movement and moved five feet to the left. _

_Hari brought up her wand as she was moving and made a motion like a check mark with a circle at the end, "Flippendo Tria!" Three multi-colored tornados of magic leapt from Hari's wand and spread themselves infront of Tonks forming a barrier that allowed Hari to use her first Complete Instant Movement to get behind Tonks. Hari made a sharp slashing motion with her wand, "Diffindo!" A thin sickle of energy shot from the tip of Hari's magical focus and lanced at Tonk's unprotected back. _

_Tonks also used Instant Movement and move ten feet away from Hari. _

_"I'm impressed, two Instant Movements in a row and it seems as though you've been teaching yourself more powerful spells." _

_"I'm following your instruction and learning for myself." _

_Tonks chuckled. _

_"Good, good..." _

_Quicker than Hari could see, Dora brandished her wand and made another jabbing motion, "Pertundo!" An invisible force hit Hari in the stomach with the strength of an iron clad punch. _

_Hari doubled over in pain as Tonks walked over to her apprentice's downed form. _

_"Don't let your opponent distract you, you need to be on the lookout, not only for insults but for compliments as well." _

_"Yes, Master..." Wheezed Hari while she clutched her stomach. _

_Dora waved her wand and Hari felt the pain in her abdomen lessen to a more bearable amount. _

_"Master?" _

_Dora shrugged. _

_"We have twenty-four hours before we get out of here so I healed you enough so that you wouldn't be useless during the rest of this session." _

_Hari nodded and shakily stood. _

_Dora used Instant Movement to gain some distance from her protégée. _

_"Defend yourself!" _

_Hari led this time. "Stupefy!" The familiar red bolt of magic shot at Dora who waited until it was close to her, then she did something that Hari didn't even know was possible, Dora caught the spell on the tip of her wand and rebounded it towards Hari at twice the speed. _

_Hari dived to the side and had just enough time to call up Temperance before a blue curse slammed into her side. _

_Hari brought up her now completely solid shield which gave her enough time to get back to her feet and apply a Numbing Charm to her bruised (in place of broken) ribs. _

_Hari sent a Bombarda to the ground at Dora's feet. _

_"Master, How did you do that?" _

_Dora used a shield to block the shrapnel from Hari's explosion curse before using Instant Movement to appear five feet from Hari's right side where she launched another Ictus at Hari's leg. _

_Hari used Incomplete Instant Movement to jump backwards a few paces and dodge the offensive magic. _

_"I don't know what it's called, It's something that Bill taught me. You form your magic into a 'cup' and use that cup to reflect a spell back towards the caster. It's hard to do because to reflect a spell you need to know it's arithmantic make up so you can 'tune' the cup to the exact opposite 'frequency' of the spell you want to reflect." _

_Hari made a motion similar to a figure eight with her wand and sent a Jelly-Legs curse (Locomotor Wibbly!) at Tonks who channeled a little bit of her magic into her legs and jumped ten feet into the air and clear over the spell. _

_"That sounds complicated." _

_Tonks landed and shot an Incendio at Hari who shielded. _

_Tonk's stopped her charm because Hari left her shield up but used Instant Movement to approach her from her blind spot. _

_"Bombarda!" _

_"Protego Duo!" _

_Hari's spell ricochet off of a two layer shield Tonk's cast and collided with one of the training dummy's which exploded in a shower of splinters. _

_"Alright Hari, that's enough of a warm up. Come over here, it's time for your lecture then I'm going to teach you a little muggle fighting." _

_Hari, breathing heavily, pocketed her wand and nodded. _

000 Flashback End 000

"-Hari!"

Hari looked up at the voice to see one of the team's Chasers, Angelina Johnson, looking at her with concern.

"What's wrong? You looked like you were thinking pretty hard over something."

"Nothing," Hari lied, "Just nervous, it's my first game, you know?"

The black girl nodded.

"Yeah, I know what you're talking about, I wanted to throw up before my first game last year."

Hari nodded and took a deep breath.

"C'mon," Angelina pulled her up, "They're going to call us out any moment."

The voice of the announcer rang from speakers on the wall.

"Welcome Hogwarts students, teachers, and honored guests to the first Quidditch match of the nineteen ninety one/nineteen ninety two school year! This match is between Slytherin and Gryffindor! I'm Lee Jordan and I'll be your commentator. Now, to Quidditch!

The team grabbed their brooms and walked to the double doors leading on to the pitch.

000 Time Skip 000

Hermiong Granger held Hari tightly while Ron and Neville helped Hagrid prepare some chamomile tea.

"I tell you," started Hermione, "I saw Snape jinxing Hari's broom!"

"Nonsense," retorted the half-giant, "Snape is a Hogwarts teacher, he's not abou' ter hurt a student, why would he?"

Seeing a chance at gathering information, Hari answered his question with one of her own.

"I don't know, why was he trying to get past that three-headed dog on Halloween?"

Hagrid was shocked.

"Who told yeh abou' Fluffy?" Spluttered Hagrid.

"Fluffy!" Exclaimed Ron.

"That thing has a name?" Said Neville with a exasperated shake of his head.

"O' course he's got a name, he's mine, bought 'im off a Greek chap I met at the pub."

"Whatever that dog is guarding we think Snape is going to steal!" Pleaded Hari.

Hagrid got a serious look in his eye.

"Look, you lot, Dumbledore trusts Snape, so you should too. You're meddlin' in things ought not ter be meddeled in! What Fluffy is guarding is between the Headmaster and Nicholas Flamel."

Hagrid suddenly looked horrified.

"I shouldn' have told yeh that!"

The four Gryffindors left Hagrid's hut shortly after that and Hari made a note on her list to find information on Nicholas Flamel.

000 Scene Change/Time Skip 000

December 14, 1991

Hari, Hermione, and Neville were sitting in a shared compartment on the Hogwarts express. Hari was reading a book that Dora had let her borrow about controlling her internal magic more efficiently, which Hari was allowed to do away from school as it didn't require a wand. Hermione was reading a book about the creation of illusions using runes, which, in her words was 'simply fascinating!' Neville was silently reading about Herbology. For the holidays Hari and Hermione only brought a few outfits (because Hari was quickly getting too big for her's and Hermione had other clothes at her house) as well as a collection of books, their wands, and the Lily Flower.

Neville broke the silence.

"I'll be back, I need the loo."

Hari and Hermione both nodded and Neville left after marking his place in his book with a piece of paper.

A few minutes later, Malfoy and his three followers slammed the compartment door open.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? A bloodtraitor and a mud-"

"Malfoy!" Snapped Hari, hiding her book between the seats and carriage wall. "Remember what happened the last time you used that filthy word in my presence?"

Malfoy and Pansy gave their best pureblood sneers as Crabbe and Goyle cracked their knuckles menacingly.

"I don't take orders from half-blood bints like you!"

Hermione was about to yell at Malfoy when Hari stood slowly at the same time touching her magic making the air heavy and crackle with static electricity.

Malfoy and his gormless underlings started sweating nervously.

"Drakeypoo..." Cooed Hari. "You should really pick your battles more carefully. You think you're my rival, my enemy, well let me tell you something; you are a bug, one that I could slap down anytime I wish. So you just keep buzzing around my head and one day your luck will run out and I'll get my flyswatter."

Hari slowly pulled her wand from a pocket on the inside of her leather jacket.

"I suggest you leave now."

Malfoy showed one last spurt of false bravado.

"Y-you going to make us?'

Hari used a small Instant Movement to appear directly infront of Malfoy, making him fall back into his gorilla-like bodyguards.

"Boo!"

The four invaders turned tail and ran.

Hari sat back down.

"Hari, what was that? Was that the results of your training with Dora? You've told me about it of course, but I've never seen it before!"

"Slow down, Hermione," chuckled Hari as she could see the spark of excitement in her brown eyes, "yes, that's a bit of what Master taught me, I'll give you a demonstration sometime this holiday."

Hermione bounced in happiness and clapped her hands.

"I have something to show you as well."

Now it was Hari's turn to be curious.

"What?"

Hermione grinned and tapped the side of her nose.

"It's a secret until later, of course."

Hari was about to make a friendly retort when Neville slid the door open again.

"So," asked Neville with a smile, "What did I miss?"

Hari grinned.

"Nothing, just had to lay down the law with a white ferret."

Neville simply raised an eyebrow.

000 0000 000

Malfoy's POV

Draco shoved Pansy out of the way as he ran away from someone who, until recently, he would've sworn was his rival.

_'How did she get so strong? I thought we were equal. I'll have to raid the library at my manor; I refuse to let that half-blood upstart beat me!'_

000 000 000

Dora's POV

Nymphadora Tonks felt Hari's magic flare from the other side of the train and was about to see what was wrong when, as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared. Dora heard stomping down the trains hall and, sticking her head out the compartment door, saw Draco Malfoy and three other Slytherins running like the hounds of Hell were nipping at their heels.

Chuckling, she sat back down; it didn't take a seer to see that Hari just intimidated Malfoy into leaving her alone.

"What was that noise, Dora?" Asked a Ravenclaw seventh year.

"Nothing," replied Dora easily, "just some energetic firsties."

000 Time Skip 000

The three young friends were gathering their things as the train slowed into the magically hidden platform nine and three quarters. Exiting the scarlet train the students went to find their parents and guardians.

"Hermione," Hari pointed to two brown-haired people dressed in dark colored muggle coats, blue jeans and shoes/boots, "There's your Mum and Dad."

Hermione looked at Hari then at the two people and smiled widely.

"Mum! Dad!"

Hermione jumped up, waving excitedly.

Hermione's parents perked up and waved back. Fighting their way through the crowd the two small girls eventually made it to the beaming parents.

Hermione leapt at her parents and pulled them both into a big hug.

"I-missed-you-I-have-so-much-to-tell-you!"

Jack and Jean Granger laughed and held her tighter until Mrs. Granger turned to Hari and hugged her as well.

"Hello, Hari."

Hari smiled shyly.

"Thank you for having me over Mr. Granger, Mrs. Granger."

"We're glad to have you." Said Jack Granger, smiling at the little girl.

Hermione beamed.

"Hermione," began Jean, "Your brother called a few nights ago and said that he would be flying in today, we need to pick him up from the airport."

If it was possible Hari saw Hermione's smile grow wider.

"After that we can all go eat."

Hari looked at her magically altered clothes.

"Er, Mr. Granger?"

The three Grangers turned to look at Hari.

"If we could stop at Diagon Alley I would really appreciate it."

The adults cocked their heads in question, Jack made a 'get on with it' motion with his gloved hand.

"I need to convert some Galleons into Pounds; my clothes only fit me because the school nurse put a spell on them, but even magic has it's limits and I don't want to have to wear nothing but my uniforms for the rest of the year when I start splitting the seams."

Jean and Hermione smiled; they loved shopping.

"I need new clothes too," Hermione looked at her parents and blushed, "I need new bras, the old ones are too tight."

At the mention of what bras his daughter needed Jack zoned out in the way he always zoned out when anyone mentioned his little princess growing up. Jean had no such compunctions and smiled. Then, to tease her sulking husband, she said, "Maybe we can find you some sexy ones..."

Both preteens blushed to the roots of their hair and Jack snapped back into the conversation with a yelped 'What!'

Jean collapsed into giggles.

"C'mon," said Jean, amusement subsiding, "let's pick up Phillip."

Hari guessed that Phillip was Hermione's brother.

Hari readjusted the case for the Lily Flower and her rucksack, smiled at Hermione and followed her parents.

Exiting King's Cross, Hari felt the snow crunch beneath her boots and saw her foggy breath infront of her face. Hermione's hair was blowing in the chilled wind and their cheeks were pink with the cold. Hari adjusted her earmuffs and scarf and followed Hermione to her family's black nineteen ninety Jaguar XJ6.

Stowing their luggage (except for the books they were reading on the train and their wands) in the car's boot, they strapped themselves into the back seat and Hari listened as Hermione excitedly told the elder Grangers all about Hogwarts while managing to skip over any incidents with trolls, mysteries, or bigoted bully's.

Hari couldn't help but feel a little longing for her parents at the sight of the cozy family scene.

000 Time Skip 000

After paying ridiculous parking fees Hari and the Grangers exited the car and trudged into the main lobby of London Heathrow Airport.

Checking with concierge the quartet arrived at the correct gate with ten minutes to spare.

Hari turned to Hermione and spoke in a whisper.

"So, why haven't you mentioned your brother?"

Hermione answered in an equally soft voice.

"He hasn't come up. He's a lot older than me and is rarely home because of his work."

Hari raised her left eyebrow.

"What's he do?"

"I don't know. Everytime I ask he changes the subject, according to dad it's something to do for the government but it's top secret."

Hari's right eyebrow joined the other.

"What, Like James Bond?"

Hermione shrugged.

"I don't know. He's says that when I'm older he'll tell me but he's been tight lipped about it so far."

Hari made a 'hmm' noise and the two took to reading the bright yellow letters of the electronic notice board.

A motion to the left caught Hermione's attention.

It was her brother.

Phillip Granger strode down the gate tunnel with an easy grace that spoke volumes about his training. He was in inch or two over six feet and had long, straight brown hair tied in a pony tail, brown eyes, and a small diagonal scar on his chin. He wore an open green army jacket and a black fleece pullover under that, black cargo pants tucked into well worn boots and a tan canvas rucksack over his shoulder.

Hari could see how women might find him attractive.

"Phil!"

Hermione was off like a brunette bullet, running towards the grinning man who opened his arms and laughed.

"Hermione, my little Jedi!" Hermione collided with her big brother who lifted her and spun her around making her giggle.

He carried Hermione over to his parents and set her down before embracing Jack and Jean in a hug.

"We're so happy that you came," spoke Jean into Phillips shoulder.

"You know me, mum, I try and come home as often as I can."

It was then that he noticed a black-haired girl a few inches taller than Hermione dressed in a leather jacket, purple hoody, and blue jeans tucked into black boots. She had glasses and green eyes as well as a strange shaped scar over her right eyebrow.

"And who is this?"

Hermione disengaged herself from her brother's side and grabbed Hari before pulling her into the Granger quartet.

"This is Hari Potter, my best friend. We met on September first on the train to school."

Phillip reached out and offered his hand to the young girl.

"You go to Hermione's school?"

Hari took his hand and shook it while nodding.

"I hope that you've been successful in getting Hermione out of the library then."

Hermione made an indignant noise as Hari grinned.

"There have been some close calls. One time I had to carry her over my shoulder so she'd leave."

Hermione turned red as she remembered that incident; she didn't even realize that she was being moved and kept reading until Hari set her down on her bed in the dorm room.

The three elder Grangers laughed as Hermione huffed at them.

The five people walked back out to the car and stuffed Phil's rucksack into the boot. Sitting in the back seat next to the window with Hermione next to her and Phil at the other side of the bench.

000 Time Skip 000

Hari escorted the Grangers into the Leaky Cauldron.

Hermione didn't understand; Hari was looking around for someone but as far as she knew Hagrid was the only magical person Hari knew before Hogwarts. Hari evidently spotted who she was looking for because she jumped up and yelled, "Tom!" Before dashing off, leaving four very confused Grangers to follow along.

Hari nearly tackled the old bartender in her hurry to hug the man who hid and cared for her during the summer.

"Tom! I-missed-you-I-have-so-much-to-tell-you!"

It took a minute to figure out what was happening before cognizance flared in the old bartender's eyes and he laughed.

"Hari Potter! It's good to see you, my dear! You've grown so much I almost didn't recognize you!"

Hari disengaged from Tom and dragged him by his arm to the faintly amused Grangers.

"Tom," she said, gesturing to her brown-haired friend, "this is my best friend, Hermione Granger," she gestured to Hermione's parents and older brother, "and this is Mr and Mrs Granger and Phillip Granger, Hermione's family."

Tom stepped forward and shook hands with all four Grangers and then led them to the bar.

"So, can I get you anything? I assume Hari's here to visit her vault before vacation really starts. Unfortunately, Gringotts won't let you ride with her because you're not listed on her account."

Jack and Jean, seeing this as a chance to ask some questions about the magical world that they had thought of since the last time they talked with Professor McGonagall, quickly ordered juice for Hermione and butterbeer for themselves and Phil.

Hari thanked the Granger's for their patience and left out the back. Tapping the correct sequence of bricks Hari made for the Wizard Bank.

000 0000 000

Hermione's POV

Hermione turned back to Her parents after watching Hari slip into the magical alley.

"So Tom," began Hermione's father, "When did you meet Hari?"

"A month before school started. She didn't want to go back to her relatives so she rented a room here for the month, the poor thing was skin and bones and at least three inches shorter than she is now, all she had to wear were rags four sizes too big."

All three elder Grangers shared significant looks with each other before they looked to Hermione and saw her wearing a sad frown but also as if she had already known about Hari's homelife.

"So," continued Tom, "we fed her and tried to keep her happy. I told her what I knew about her parents, god rest their souls, and she spent a lot of time in her room reading her schoolbooks."

Jean Granger leaned in on her stool.

"Didn't her relatives tell her anything about her parents?"

Tom shook his bald head.

"She said that her aunt and uncle didn't get on with her parents so they wouldn't let her ask questions about them."

Another dark look was exchanged by the Grangers.

"Now," said Tom in an effort to get onto a happier subject, "Hari's sent me some letters about school life," he looked to Hermione, "she said she's doing some kind of training but won't tell me what it is. I admit I'm very curious about it, do you know?"

Hermione, startled, looked into the weatherworn face of Tom Dodderidge, the Barman.

"I'm sorry sir, but I don't know anything about it either, she takes her tutor's rule about privacy very seriously."

Hermione put on a regretful face, not letting on that she knew much of what went on in their training.

The adults fell into silence and Hermione started reading her book.

000 0000 000

Hari's POV

Hari left Gringotts with enough money (both Wizarding and Mundane) to buy not only clothes for herself but Christmas presents for her friends and Hermione's family as well as something she had been wanting for a while now. Thinking a quick detour wouldn't be too much bother for the Grangers and Tom, Hari put her hood up and walked to a lesser traveled alley offshooting from the main thoroughfare.

Entering Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment, a narrow dusty shop with it's walls lined with enchanted items sitting on dark wood shelves, Hari shuffled to the counter and tapped a service bell.

"All righ', all righ', I'm comin'!"

A short, older man with a bushy red beard and a cabby hat that covered his eyes shuffled to the other side of the counter. Stepping onto what Hari guessed was a step stool, he focused on his young customer and grinned.

"Welcum ta wiseacre's! oi'm tha shop owner, Muircheartach McGully. waaat can we be doin' fer yer taday, lass?"

(AN: I hope that sounds Irish enough, I used an Irish accent translator on the internet so it's their fault if it sounds off.)

Hari smiled at the happy man.

"I'm looking for a pensieve, sir."

Muircheartach whistled.

"That's sum dear equipment yer nade, lass."

"I can pay, don't worry."

The shop owner nodded, hopped off his stool, and walked as quick as his stubby legs could carry him into the back room.

"I'll be roi back oi 'av a few pensieves in de back room, 'tis wha oi keep me dear artifacts."

(AN: I don't know why the translator changes the word 'expensive' to 'dear' but I figure it knows best.)

Hari had only waited a minute when Muircheartach came from the back room with a stone basin covered in enough runes to make Hermione happy for years to come.

"'Ere so'tiz, i'll wrap dis up an' i'll include a buk on drawin' memories from yisser noggin."

(AN: Reading this dialect hurts my eyes.)

Hari smiled and withdrew her money pouch.

000 0000 000

Hermione's POV

Hermione heard the sound of stone scraping on stone and then boots on pavement. Looking up at the back entrance to the Alley, Hermione spotted Hari carrying a cumbersome square package. Jumping up, the bushy haired girl scrambled to help Hari before the taller girl tumbled and dropped her parcel.

"Hari, what's this?" Asked Hermione after steadying Hari.

"A gift. Using this, we can show your parents Hogwarts."

Hermione suddenly looked nervous and leaned closer Hari.

"I don't want to show them the bullying or the troll."

Hari smiled.

"Alright, just the classes and what we do for fun."

Hermione nodded with a smile replacing her nervous frown.

Hermione and Hari were joined by Hermione's parents, older brother, and Tom.

"What's that, Hari?"

"This is a pensieve, with this we can show you our memories of Hogwarts, so you can really get a feel for our school."

Hari turned to Tom.

"Could you please copy our memories? I don't know if doing that ourselves would trigger our trace."

Tom smiled and raised his wand.

000 Time Skip 000

Hari and the Grangers pulled into the drive of Hermione's two story London townhouse; the Dursleys wished they had a home half as grand.

Hermione approached Hari with a smile on her face.

"What do you think?"

Hari was startled, she had been too busy staring in awe at the obviously expensive home.

"It's certainly big."

Hermione laughed.

"It's been the only home I've ever known."

They stood in silence before Hermione pulled Hari to the boot of the car where they collected their things before following Phillip to the front door. Entering the receiving hall they stowed their coats and jackets in a closet.

"Hari," said Jean, "you'll be rooming with Hermione, okay?"

Both girls smiled in answer while Phillip grabbed Hermione's book filled bag and hefted it to his shoulders with a grunt.

"Dang, Hermione," panted Phillip, "how did you carry this?"

Hermione blushed and muttered something like, "Featherweight Charms must have stopped working."

Laughing, Hari channeled some of her magic to strengthen her body and took the bag from Phillip before bending down and grabbing her own bag along with the Lily Flower.

"Where's your room, 'Mione?" Asked Hari easily.

Hermione was less shocked than her family as she knew that this must be Hari's Temperance and simply pointed to the stairs

"Second floor."

Nodding, Hari gestured for Hermione to take the lead before following her friend up the stairs leaving three comically stunned Grangers in her wake.

"What the Hell was that?"

Jean absently smacked both her wide-eyed boys in the chest.

"Language, you two."

000 0000 000

Hermione's POV

Hermione entered her room with a half reproving/half amused smile on her face.

"Honestly Sparrow, that was not funny."

Hari entered the room behind Hermione with a wide grin on her face.

"Oh, come on! Did you see their faces!"

She set the luggage on the floor and looked around the bedroom; it was large, maybe fifteen by twenty feet and had a big, squishy looking queen sized bed with a light blue comforter and three darker blue pillows. Hermione had shelves lining her walls stacked with hundreds of books, she had a large hardwood desk in one corner. Hari couldn't hold back her smile at how 'Hermione' this room was.

Hermione was nervous, as though she expected Hari to tease her.

"What do you think?"

Hari grinned and embraced Hermione.

"Never change, Hermione. This room is perfect. You're perfect."

Hermione beamed at Hari before hugging her.

"C'mon, let's go show our memories of the term to Mum and Dad."

000 Time Skip 000

The two tired girls re-entered the bedroom, they had showed some of the memories of term. Classes, flying lessons, Hanging around the tower, exploring the grounds, Hari even included the memory of carrying Hermione from the library.

Little did anyone know that Hari had Tom extract the memory of the troll so she could show Hermione privately.

The two girls approached the bed. Hermione yawned and motioned for Hari to get in first before climbing in after her. As Hari drifted off she thought of the errands they had to run tomorrow...

000 Flashback Start 000

_"Now," began Jean, "after shopping tomorrow we've been invited to spend most of the holiday at Grandma and Grandpa Granger's house. They're having a family reunion and Grangers from all around the Europe are gathering at Nana's. _

_Hari caught Hermione's small frown before she replaced it with a smile. _

_"Remember Hermione, Hari, that any Granger who's not in this room doesn't know, and can't know, about magic." _

_Jean leaned back in her chair and looked to the pensieve Hari sat in the middle of the dining room table. _

_"So let's see these memories..." _

000 Flashback End 000

Hari's eyelids seemed too heavy to keep open anymore and she drifted off to peaceful sleep.

000 0000 000

Chapter End

000 0000 000

Authors Note:

I'm so sorry that this took nearly a month to get up but I had new story fever. I came up with so many different story ideas that I wanted to get on paper (digital, in this case) and this story seemed to get pushed to the back burner.

Hari's Abilities:  
>Hari can use complete Instant Movement when she has a moment to concentrate but if it's on the fly it has a good chance of failing, though she doesn't stumble often.<p>

A Question for the Readers:  
>I wanted to give Hari some type of bladed weapon to complement her magic and non-magic fighting style. Right now I'm leaning to some type of knife, maybe a push knife or something. It has to be small enough to conceal in her clothes. If you have Ideas put them in a review and I'll consider them.<p>

A Second Question for the Readers:  
>I'm thinking of expanding on Hermione's wandless magic so my question is: How far do you want me to take Hermione's wandless casting? Do you want her to only be able to do simple things? Or do you want her to be just as good wandlessly as with a wand? Keep in mind that this will all be very gradual if it does come to pass.<p>

-Faffy out


End file.
